What a prenup usually covers

• What each person is bringing into the marriage, and whether it stays separate.
• How property acquired during the marriage will be treated.
• What happens to a business one person owns or is building.
• How debt, including student debt brought into the marriage, is treated.
• Whether there will be spousal support if the marriage ends, and on what terms.
• Provision for children from a previous relationship, particularly in estate planning terms.

What it generally cannot do

Courts across the United States will not enforce provisions about child custody or child support fixed in advance. Those decisions belong to the child and are made on the circumstances at the time, not by an agreement signed years earlier. Terms about non-financial matters, sometimes called lifestyle clauses, are usually unenforceable and can undermine the credibility of the rest of the document.

Why prenups get set aside

An agreement that is challenged is usually challenged on how it was made rather than what it says. The recurring themes are the same everywhere: one person did not disclose their finances fully, one person had no real opportunity to take independent legal advice, the agreement was produced days before the wedding, or the terms were so one-sided as to be unconscionable.

Avoiding those problems is mostly a matter of process. Full written disclosure on both sides, separate attorneys for each person, and enough time between signing and the wedding that nobody could say they were rushed.

Where mediation fits

Mediation is a useful setting for the conversation itself. It gives both people a neutral space to say what they actually want and why, rather than exchanging drafts through two lawyers, which can make a difficult subject feel adversarial before anyone has said anything.

The mediator does not draft the final agreement or advise either person. Once you have agreed the substance, each of you takes it to your own attorney, who drafts or reviews the document and advises you on whether to sign.