A Louisiana prenuptial agreement is a written contract signed before the wedding that replaces or changes the property rules the state would otherwise apply to the marriage. Louisiana law calls it a matrimonial agreement and defines it as a contract establishing a regime of separation of property, or modifying or terminating the legal regime.[4]
It settles who owns what, who owes what, and how income and debts are handled. It cannot renounce or alter the marital portion or the established order of succession.[6] You can start from this free prenuptial template and adapt it to Louisiana's rules.
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Louisiana law calls this document a matrimonial agreement. Most people call it a prenup. You will also see it called a premarital agreement or an antenuptial agreement. The same articles cover postnuptial agreements, signed after the wedding.[5]
Yes. The legal regime in Louisiana is the community of acquets and gains.[3] A matrimonial regime is a system of principles and rules governing the ownership and management of the property of married persons.[1] It governs their dealings with each other and with third persons.
A regime may be legal, contractual, or partly legal and partly contractual.[2] Without an agreement, the community property regime applies on its own, and most of what the couple acquires during the marriage is considered jointly owned.
Spouses are free to establish a regime of separation of property by matrimonial agreement, or to modify the legal regime as provided by law.[4] Whatever you do not exclude or change stays in force.[4]
A Louisiana prenup sets the property rules for the marriage and protects assets one spouse owned before the wedding. It can exclude the community of acquets and gains entirely and place the couple under a regime of separation of property.[10] It can instead keep the legal regime and change only parts of it.[4] It can also fix how much each spouse contributes to the expenses of the marriage.[13]
Subjects couples usually put in the agreement:
Matrimonial agreements cannot reach everything. Some terms are off limits no matter what both spouses agree to. Spouses may not renounce or alter the marital portion or the established order of succession.[6] They also cannot restrict, as against third persons, what one spouse alone may do with community property under the legal regime.[6]
Popular Local Prenuptial Agreement Forms
Matrimonial agreements are governed by the Louisiana Civil Code. The main articles are 2325 through 2333, and the regime of separation of property is set out in articles 2370 through 2373. Together they fix the form the agreement must take, who may sign it, when a court has to approve it, and when it binds outsiders.
Article 2331 gives two ways to execute a matrimonial agreement. It must be made by authentic act, or by an act under private signature duly acknowledged by the spouses.[7]
It shall be made by authentic act or by an act under private signature duly acknowledged by the spouses.
An authentic act is signed in front of a notary public and two witnesses. The second route, an act under private signature duly acknowledged, is the alternative the Code allows. Both spouses sign either way.
A common mistake is to assume that any notarized signature will do. Article 2331 names two specific forms, and an agreement in neither of them does not meet the Code.[7]
Age limits apply. A minor under the age of sixteen may not enter into a matrimonial agreement at all.[9] A minor who is sixteen or seventeen needs judicial authorization. That minor also needs the written concurrence of both parents, of the parent having legal custody, or of the tutor of his person.[9]
Registry is what makes the agreement count against outsiders. For immovable property, file it for registry in the conveyance records of the parish where the property is situated. The agreement is then effective toward third persons as to that property.[8] For movables, file it in the parish or parishes where the spouses are domiciled.[8]
Louisiana courts read matrimonial agreements against the limits in the Code, and will not give effect to terms it puts out of reach. Spouses may enter into a matrimonial agreement as to all matters that are not prohibited by public policy.[5] A provision that crosses one of the lines below does not stand.
Yes, when the agreement meets the Code's requirements. Spouses are free to establish a regime of separation of property by matrimonial agreement, or to modify the legal regime as provided by law.[4] The document has to be in one of the two forms article 2331 allows,[7] and it cannot reach the subjects article 2330 puts off limits.[6]
One point trips people up. An agreement does not have to replace the whole legal regime. The provisions of the legal regime that have not been excluded or modified by the agreement retain their force and effect.[4] An agreement signed before the wedding takes effect once the couple marries.
Yes, but the bar is higher for a postnuptial agreement. Spouses may enter into a matrimonial agreement before or during marriage as to all matters that are not prohibited by public policy.[5] To modify or terminate a matrimonial regime during the marriage, the spouses must file a joint petition. The court must then find that the change serves their best interests and that they understand the governing principles and rules.[5]
Article 2329 writes two exceptions into the rule.[5] Spouses may subject themselves to the legal regime by a matrimonial agreement at any time without court approval.[5] Couples who move to Louisiana get a window as well. During the first year after moving into and acquiring a domicile in this state, they may enter into a matrimonial agreement without court approval.[5]
It is the main alternative to community property. A matrimonial agreement that excludes the legal regime of community of acquets and gains establishes it.[10] A judgment decreeing separation of property does the same.[10] Under the regime, each spouse acting alone uses, enjoys, and disposes of his property without the consent or concurrence of the other.[11]
Separation does not cut every tie. A spouse is solidarily liable with the other spouse who incurs an obligation for necessaries for himself or the family.[12] Each spouse contributes to the expenses of the marriage as the matrimonial agreement provides. Where the agreement says nothing, each contributes in proportion to his means.[13]
Most of the work happens before anyone signs. You decide which regime you want, list what each of you owns and owes, and write the terms. Then you execute the document in one of the two forms article 2331 allows.[7] Do it before the wedding and no court has to be involved.[5]
Yes, nothing in the Civil Code articles on matrimonial agreements requires a lawyer to draft one. The form is what matters. The agreement must be made by authentic act, or by an act under private signature duly acknowledged by the spouses.[7] A minor under sixteen cannot sign at all, and a minor of sixteen or seventeen needs judicial authorization.[9]
The risk is rarely the drafting. It is getting the execution or the timing wrong. An agreement signed after the wedding without the joint petition and court finding that article 2329 requires will not do what the couple intended.[5]
Last Updated: September 2026. This guide is reviewed and updated regularly to reflect current Louisiana law. If you notice an error or outdated information, please contact us.
Other Prenuptial Agreement Forms by State
Unless noted otherwise, the sources below are from the Louisiana Civil Code.