Sarasota family law firm Loftus Law has added prenuptial agreements to its practice areas, along with new articles on protecting assets and inherited wealth before marriage. Agreements are drafted personally by attorney Leslie Loftus.
What a Florida Prenuptial Agreement Actually Protects — and What It Can'tMost people who come to us about a prenuptial agreement open the conversation the same way: a little apologetically, as if asking for one says something unflattering about the marriage they are about to enter.
It doesn't. A prenuptial agreement is the same care you would bring to any partnership worth protecting. Two people decide together, while they are cooperative and have every reason to be fair to each other, what happens to what each of them brings to the marriage. The alternative is leaving those decisions to be made later by two people who are no longer cooperative, through attorneys, or by a judge applying default state rules that may fit your situation poorly.
That is the real argument for a prenup: not distrust, but timing.
What a prenuptial agreement can protectAssets you owned before the marriage. Property you own going in is generally separate property under Florida law. That protection erodes faster than most people expect, though, once accounts are commingled or a spouse contributes money or labor to a property's upkeep and value. A Florida prenuptial agreement documents what was separate at the outset and sets out how it stays that way.
An inheritance. Inherited money and property are usually separate as well — and this is the area where assumptions cause the most damage. People routinely believe an inheritance is untouchable, deposit it into a joint account, and discover years later that it no longer looks separate at all. An agreement can address inherited wealth directly, and can preserve family property for children from a prior marriage.
A business. Without an agreement, a spouse may end up with a claim on a company's growth during the marriage. That can mean a forced valuation, a buyout that strains cash flow, or a co-owner nobody planned for. This is a common reason business owners come to us, and it is one of the situations where the specific drafting matters most.
Debt. Protection runs both directions. An agreement can shield one spouse from the other's student loans, business debt, or obligations from a prior marriage.
Clarity about spousal support. Support terms can be addressed in advance rather than litigated later. There are limits on how far this can go, which is worth discussing case by case.
What it can't doAn honest answer here matters more than a sales pitch, so: a prenuptial agreement is not unlimited.
It cannot predetermine child support. Under Florida law, support belongs to the child, not the parents, and parents cannot bargain it away in advance.
It cannot lock in custody or timesharing. Those decisions are made based on the child's best interests at the time the question arises, not on what two people agreed to years before the child existed.
It cannot enforce non-financial terms. Provisions about household duties, weight, or personal behavior are not going to help you, and their presence can undermine the credibility of the rest of the document.
And it cannot save an agreement that was executed badly. Which brings up the part most people underestimate.
Enforceability is where prenups failAn agreement is only worth what it is worth if it is challenged. In practice, agreements come apart for reasons that have nothing to do with the terms themselves:
Incomplete financial disclosure. Both parties need a full and fair picture of what the other owns and owes. An agreement built on a partial disclosure is vulnerable.
No independent counsel. Each party should have their own attorney. One attorney drafting for both sides invites an argument that one party never really understood or freely accepted what they signed.
Signing too close to the wedding. An agreement presented days before the ceremony, with deposits paid and guests booked, is an agreement a court may later view as signed under pressure. Time is the cheapest protection available, and it costs nothing to start early.
If you are wondering how a prenup protects your assets, the honest answer is that it depends as much on how the agreement was made as on what it says.
Why Choose Loftus Law for Your Prenuptial AgreementWhen you hire us, you work directly with Leslie Loftus — not an associate. At most firms, a senior attorney handles the consultation and a junior handles everything after it. Here, the attorney who takes your meeting is the attorney who drafts your agreement, handles the negotiation, and answers the phone when you have questions.
With more than four decades of experience, Leslie has held Martindale-Hubbell's "AV" rating since 1996 — the profession's highest peer rating, awarded by judges and opposing counsel rather than applied for or purchased.
Her background is unusual for a family law attorney. She spent the early part of her career in complex commercial and international litigation before moving to Sarasota and devoting her practice exclusively to family law. That grounding matters when a case involves a closely held business, a difficult valuation, or an agreement that needs to survive scrutiny years later.
We practice only in Sarasota and Manatee County. Real familiarity with the local judges, mediators, and opposing attorneys is not something a firm covering five counties can replicate.
Wherever it makes sense, we pursue settlement — resolving matters outside the courtroom protects your privacy and reduces cost. Being genuinely prepared to litigate, and known for it locally, is what makes a fair settlement achievable in the first place.
We also keep our caseload deliberately limited so every client gets real attention, and we talk openly about fees from your first conversation.
Start the conversation earlyThe couples who end up with agreements that hold up are the ones who started months before the wedding, not weeks. If you are engaged, or thinking about it, and you have assets, a business, an inheritance, or children from a prior marriage in the picture, it is worth an hour of conversation now.
Schedule a consultation or call 941-444-7278. Loftus Law City: Sarasota Address: 1858 Ringling Blvd Ste. 110 Website: https://loftuslaw.net/ Phone: +1 941 444 7278 Email: leslie@loftuslaw.net