No, a prenuptial agreement cannot waive child support obligations. Even if both parents agreed to it in advance, this would be an invalid provision within the prenup.
We recently discussed the fact that prenuptial agreements cannot waive or secure child custody rights. During a divorce, the court makes a decision that is in the child’s best interests, so parents cannot use a prenup to give up their custody rights – or guarantee that they get sole custody – in advance.
The same general rule applies to child support payments. Just because one parent agreed that the other would not have to pay support doesn’t mean that the child does not deserve financial support from both parents. Because it would be in the child’s best interests to get this financial support from both sources, the court could ignore this provision in a prenup and order that parent to pay child support anyway.
What is the value in a prenup?
This does not mean that a prenuptial agreement is not useful or valuable. It is. It just cannot be used for child-centric decisions. This is especially true because many people sign prenups before they get married and only have children after they get married. So a prenup cannot affect the rights of a future child who has not even been born yet.
Instead, prenups should address issues involving assets that the parents already own or will earn in the future. For instance, someone who is bringing a significant amount of wealth into a marriage can use a prenup to protect it and ensure that they keep the full value in the event of a divorce.
Navigating the divorce process
It is very important to understand how all of this documentation works together and how courts make decisions during a divorce case. If you have questions, it can help to talk to an experienced attorney.
