Tennessee: Prenuptial Agreement Requirements

Requirements one by one

Tennessee uses a state-specific statute, not UPAA

Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-501 governs a prenup concerning property owned by
either spouse before marriage. It makes the agreement binding when it was
entered freely, knowledgeably, and in good faith, without duress or undue
influence, and makes ordinary contract remedies available. Randolph v.
Randolph defines the knowledge requirement, while Cary v. Cary supplies the
spousal-support rule.

The Statute of Frauds supplies the writing and signature rule

Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-2-101(a) places an agreement made upon consideration of
marriage within the Statute of Frauds. Enforcement therefore requires a
writing signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought. Bratton v.
Bratton confirms that marriage is sufficient consideration for the original
prenup.

Deed-style formalities are not universal validity requirements

Neither § 36-3-501 nor § 29-2-101 adds a notary or witness requirement for
basic inter-party enforcement. Sections 66-24-105 and 66-24-106 separately
direct registration of specified marriage-settlement deeds and agreements
settling the prospective wife's property. Those property-recording statutes
do not turn every Tennessee prenup into a deed or impose two witnesses across
the board.

Randolph requires disclosure or real independent knowledge

The spouse seeking enforcement bears the burden of proving either full and
fair disclosure or independent knowledge of the nature, extent, and value of
the other spouse's holdings. Disclosure need not identify every asset with
precision, but it must give a clear idea of all three components.

The statute and Randolph do not provide a UPAA-style written waiver of further
disclosure as a substitute. The alternative is actual independent knowledge,
not a generic waiver sentence.

Counsel and wedding timing are factors, not fixed rules

Randolph places Tennessee in the group of states where independent counsel is
a factor in whether the agreement was entered knowledgeably, not an absolute
requirement. The court also considers the timing of signing relative to the
wedding, the parties' sophistication, their business experience, the length
of their relationship, and the opportunity to consult counsel. No statute
sets a minimum review period.

The statute supplies the core enforceability standard

Section 36-3-501 requires free, knowledgeable, good-faith execution without
duress or undue influence. Randolph folds full disclosure or independent
knowledge into “knowledgeably.” It also says substantive apparent fairness may
affect how much disclosure is adequate, but Tennessee does not apply a general
execution-time unconscionability branch or a general changed-circumstances
second look to every prenup term.

Cary permits an alimony waiver with one safety valve

Cary holds that a voluntary and knowing alimony waiver or limitation is not
against Tennessee public policy. The court enforces it unless the result would
make the deprived spouse a public charge. If that happens, the court voids the
support provision and awards alimony under the statutory factors; the remedy
is not limited by Cary to one particular form of alimony.

Child matters and creditor rights remain outside complete private control

Under § 36-5-101(a)(1) and (e)(1), child support remains in the court's control
and the guideline amount is presumptively correct. Tenn. Code Ann.
§ 36-6-106(a) requires custody decisions to turn on the child's best interests. A prenup therefore
cannot conclusively set or waive the court's child-support and custody duties.

Section 36-3-502 also preserves specified creditor protections against a
marriage settlement. That is why § 36-3-501 begins with an express exception
for § 36-3-502.

A post-marriage change needs more than recycled marriage consideration

Tennessee has no prenup-specific amendment statute. Under Bratton, a change
made after marriage is a postnuptial agreement. The existing marriage cannot
serve as fresh consideration; consideration must flow to both spouses. The
change also must be entered knowledgeably, without fraud, coercion, or duress,
and will receive close fair-and-equitable scrutiny because spouses occupy a
confidential relationship.

What trips people up

• Independent knowledge must cover value as well as identity. Knowing that
  a spouse owns a business or land does not necessarily establish knowledge of
  its nature, extent, and value.
• Counsel is evidence, not a statutory checkbox. Its presence or absence is
  considered with timing, sophistication, and the rest of the process.
• The alimony exception is a public-charge rule. Tennessee has not enacted
  the broader uniform-act public-assistance wording or a generic later-hardship
  review for all terms.

Common questions

Must both prospective spouses sign?

Section 29-2-101 requires the signature of the party to be charged. For a
mutual agreement that either spouse may need to enforce, both signatures are
therefore necessary.

Is a financial schedule mandatory?

No particular schedule form is mandated. Randolph says attaching a net-worth
schedule is a simple way to prove disclosure, but the legal question is whether
there was full and fair disclosure or sufficient independent knowledge.

Can a prenup waive alimony completely?

Yes, subject to Cary's public-charge exception. If enforcement would make the
deprived spouse a public charge, the court must void that provision and apply
the alimony statute.

Statutes and sources

• Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 36-3-501 to -502 — enforceability, contract remedies,
  and creditor limits. Official Code release, Title
  36
  (accessed 2026-07-28).
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-2-101(a) — consideration-of-marriage writing and
  signature rule. Official Code release, Title
  29
  (accessed 2026-07-28).
• Randolph v. Randolph, 937 S.W.2d 815 (Tenn. 1996) — disclosure,
  independent knowledge, counsel, timing, and burden of proof.
  Opinion (accessed
  2026-07-28).
• Cary v. Cary, 937 S.W.2d 777 (Tenn. 1996) — alimony waiver and the
  public-charge exception. Opinion
  (accessed 2026-07-28).
• Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 36-5-101 and 36-6-106 — child-support court control,
  guidelines, and custody best interests. Official Code release, Title
  36
  (accessed 2026-07-28).
• Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 66-24-105 to -106 — registration of specified
  marriage settlements. Official Code release, Title
  66
  (accessed 2026-07-28).
• Bratton v. Bratton, 136 S.W.3d 595 (Tenn. 2004) — postnuptial agreement
  consideration and safeguards. Opinion
  (accessed 2026-07-28).