The Fine Print That Decides Whether a Premarital Waiver Holds Up

A surviving spouse who signed away inheritance rights before the wedding may assume that piece of paper means nothing now. Relatives on the other side of the family may assume it is untouchable. Florida law lands somewhere in between, and the answer usually comes down to a few technical details that are easy to miss.

What the Statute Requires

Florida’s elective share lets a surviving spouse claim 30 percent of the elective estate, even when a will leaves that spouse nothing, as set out in section 732.2065, Florida Statutes. A spouse can give that right up. Under section 732.702(1), a waiver may be complete or partial, may be signed before or after the marriage, and must be in writing and signed by the waiving party in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

The witness rule trips up more agreements than people expect. A document signed with one witness, or with witnesses who never actually saw the signature, invites a challenge.

Wording matters just as much. Section 732.702(1) provides that, unless the waiver says otherwise, a waiver of “all rights” in a spouse’s property or estate covers the elective share, intestate share, pretermitted share, homestead, exempt property, family allowance, certain community property claims, and the preference to serve as personal representative of an intestate estate.

Disclosure and Fairness

Under section 732.702(2), each spouse must make a fair disclosure of their estate when a waiver is signed after the marriage. The statute does not require disclosure for a waiver signed before the marriage. That does not close the door on a challenge, though. A spouse can still argue that the agreement came from fraud, duress, or coercion, such as being handed a stack of documents days before the ceremony and told to sign.

Questions that tend to surface when a waiver is contested include:

• Did two witnesses see the waiving party sign?
• Does the language reach the elective share, or only certain other rights?
• Was the agreement signed before or after the wedding?
• If it was signed after, did both spouses fairly disclose their finances?
• Is there any evidence of pressure, deception, or confusion about what was signed?

Gather the Evidence Early

Elective share claims carry firm deadlines, so waiting can cost a person real rights. The signed agreement is only the starting point. Earlier drafts, emails between the parties, the identity of the witnesses, and proof of how much time passed between presentation and signing can all shape how a court views the document. Whether each side had their own lawyer is another detail that tends to matter.

If you are weighing whether to enforce or fight a waiver, speak with experienced Pompano Beach elective share attorneys before a deadline slips by. Mark R. Manceri, P.A. can review the document, the witness signatures, and the timeline of the marriage, then tell you where you stand. Call 954-491-7099 to start that conversation.

Source:

flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/732.702

flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/732.2065