A prenuptial agreement lets a Queens couple decide before the wedding how a home, a family business and support will be handled if the marriage ends, instead of leaving those questions to New York's default rules. It must be in writing, signed by both of you and acknowledged in the form required to record a deed (DRL § 236(B)(3)). Neuhaus & Yacoob prepares Queens prenups for fixed fees from $2,500, with consultations by phone or video.
At a glance
- Fixed fees: Standard $2,500, Complex $4,000, High-Net-Worth $6,000+.
- Often addressed: a share of a house owned with parents or siblings, rental income, a family business, and property or accounts abroad.
- If either of you reads another language more comfortably than English, plan for a translation and time to review it.
- A prenup does not cancel a sponsor's federal Form I-864 support obligation.
Prenups for Queens couples
We prepare prenuptial agreements for couples throughout Queens, from Astoria and Long Island City to Flushing, Forest Hills, Jamaica and the Rockaways. Meetings are by phone or video, and you can sign at our office at 195 Montague Street in Brooklyn or before a notary near you using our instructions. The legal requirements are the same everywhere in New York; this page focuses on situations that come up when couples have family property, family businesses or ties to another country. The general rules are on our main prenuptial agreement page.
A home owned with your family
Some couples come to a prenup already owning part of a two- or three-family house with parents or siblings, or living in a building the family owns. A share of real estate owned before the marriage is separate property (DRL § 236(B)(1)(d)(1)). The picture blurs when marital money pays the mortgage, taxes or repairs, when rent from the other units goes into a joint account, or when the new spouse helps manage the property, because growth in separate property can become marital to the extent it comes in part from the other spouse's contributions or efforts (DRL § 236(B)(1)(d)(3)).
A prenup can confirm that your share and its growth stay separate, decide whether rental income is separate or shared, and set a credit if marital funds go into the building. Because relatives co-own the property, a clear agreement also helps keep them out of any later dispute.
Family businesses
A business you owned before the marriage is separate property, but its growth can be marital if your spouse's work helped it grow, and a business started during the marriage is generally marital. If the business belongs to your family, the other owners have a stake in what your prenup says. A prenup can define your interest, set a valuation method or buyout formula, and say how salary and profits are treated. Check the company's shareholder or operating agreement too, so the two documents agree. See protecting your business in divorce.
Property, accounts and family abroad
Land, a home or bank accounts in another country belong in the financial disclosure attached to the agreement. Disclosure is not a formal statutory requirement in New York, but concealment can support a later claim of fraud or overreaching. If you expect to live abroad or to inherit property there, consider which law will govern the agreement and whether it will be recognized in that country; we will tell you when you need advice from a lawyer there. If you plan to marry abroad, see foreign marriage recognition in New York.
If your community uses a religious marriage contract, tell us about it so the civil prenup and the religious document do not contradict each other. For Jewish couples, see the halachic prenup.
An agreement both of you understand
A prenup is only as strong as the proof that each of you understood it and signed voluntarily. If either of you reads another language more comfortably than English, plan for a translation of the final draft and enough time to review it with your own lawyer. We draft in English, and the agreement should say which version controls. If a document in another language is ever attached to court papers in New York, it must be accompanied by an English translation and a translator's affidavit (CPLR 2101(b)).
Immigration sponsorship and Form I-864
If one of you is sponsoring the other for a green card, the sponsor signs a federal Affidavit of Support (Form I-864), promising to support the immigrant at a minimum income level. That promise is a separate federal obligation. The Ninth Circuit has held that "neither a divorce judgment nor a premarital agreement may terminate an obligation of support" under the I-864 (Erler v. Erler, 824 F.3d 1173 (9th Cir. 2016)). Tell us if an I-864 has been or will be signed, so the prenup is drafted with it in mind. Questions about the immigration case itself belong with your immigration lawyer.
What a prenup cannot do
A prenup cannot bind the court on child support or custody: support terms are subject to the Child Support Standards Act, and custody is decided on the child's best interests (DRL § 240). It also cannot leave a spouse likely to become a public charge (DRL § 236(B)(3); General Obligations Law § 5-311). Maintenance terms must be fair and reasonable when signed and not unconscionable when a divorce judgment is entered (DRL § 236(B)(3)).
Fixed fees
Standard Prenup
$2,500
Straightforward asset protection
Complex Prenup
$4,000
Business interests or significant assets
High-Net-Worth
$6,000+
Extensive holdings, multiple properties
Each fee includes a financial disclosure review, custom-drafted terms, negotiation support if needed, and execution and notarization guidance. See what a prenup costs in NYC. Start online or call (718) 975-1123.