Family Law — Prenuptial Agreements
Prenuptial Agreement When Remarrying in Israel
Protect What You Built the First Time Round
Divorced and remarrying? A prenuptial agreement is more important now than it was before your first marriage. Adv. Liron Elmaliach helps you protect the assets you have built, safeguard your children's inheritance, and enter your new marriage with clarity and peace of mind.
Why a Prenuptial Agreement Is More Important in a Second Marriage
When you married the first time, you were likely starting out with few assets. The second time is different. By the time you remarry, you may own property, have a pension that has been growing for years, run a business you built from scratch after your divorce, or hold savings accumulated entirely on your own. These are assets that belong to your story — not to a new marriage.
Israeli matrimonial property law creates a default presumption of joint ownership for assets acquired during a marriage. Without a prenuptial agreement, this presumption can extend in ways that feel deeply unfair: a new spouse could gain rights to pension contributions made before they entered your life, to the home you bought with your own money after your divorce, or to the business you spent years rebuilding alone.
Children from a first marriage add another layer of urgency. Without an agreement, the assets you intend to leave to those children may be exposed to claims arising from a second divorce or, worse, from a disputed estate. A prenuptial agreement is not a sign of distrust — it is a responsible acknowledgement that both parties bring independent histories and that protecting those histories benefits everyone.
At stake without a prenuptial agreement: the apartment you bought after your first divorce, the pension accumulated over a long career, a business built post-divorce, savings held in your name alone, and the inheritance share your children expect. A single document, properly prepared, addresses all of these risks.
What to Include in a Second-Marriage Prenuptial Agreement
A well-drafted second-marriage prenuptial agreement typically covers several distinct categories of assets and rights. Getting each of these right requires careful drafting and full financial disclosure by both parties.
Pre-existing and post-divorce assets: Any property, savings, or investments you owned before your first marriage or acquired after your first divorce should be clearly identified as your separate property. This includes the family home you live in, accounts in your sole name, and any business interests.
Children's inheritance shares: The agreement can designate certain assets as earmarked for your children from your first marriage, consistent with what your will provides. Coordination between the prenuptial agreement and your will is essential to ensure the provisions are binding and coherent.
Pension rights already accumulated: Contributions made before the second marriage belong to your history alone. The agreement should specify that pension rights accrued before the date of the new marriage are each party's separate property, while defining how future pension contributions during the marriage are treated.
Property already owned: Any real estate you own at the date of the marriage should be listed and confirmed as separate property. The agreement should address what happens if you sell that property and reinvest the proceeds during the marriage — otherwise disputes arise.
What new assets are shared: Most couples do want to share the assets they build together in the new marriage — income earned jointly, a home purchased together, joint savings. The agreement can specify exactly which new assets will be treated as joint property, creating a balanced arrangement that respects the past while building a shared future.
Frequently Asked Questions — Prenuptial Agreement When Remarrying
Answers to the questions most often asked by people remarrying in Israel
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Prenuptial Agreement for a Second Marriage — Free Initial Consultation
Adv. Liron Elmaliach — Jerusalem Family Law