§ 19-3-62.Requirements and construction of antenuptial agreements
Chapter 3. Marriage Generally · Article 3. Antenuptial Agreements, Marriage Contracts, and Postnuptial Settlements · Last amended 2018 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-3-62
Plain-English Summary
This is the section to read before signing a prenup in Georgia. It sets three formal requirements. An antenuptial agreement shall be in writing; it shall be signed by both parties who agree to be bound; and it shall be attested by at least two witnesses, one of whom shall be a notary public. Each is stated in mandatory terms. An oral promise about property made before the wedding doesn’t meet the first requirement, and a writing signed by only one party doesn’t meet the second.
The witness rule deserves care. Two witnesses is the minimum, and one of them must be a notary public. A notary alone, with no second witness, falls short of the text. The section doesn’t say whether both parties must sign at the same time or before the same witnesses, so the safest course is a signing that leaves no doubt about any of the three requirements.
The second sentence turns from signing to reading. Antenuptial agreements shall be liberally construed to carry into effect the intention of the parties, and no want of form or technical expression shall invalidate them. A court reading the agreement looks for what the parties meant, not for magic words; awkward drafting or missing legal terms won’t defeat it on that ground. How a court treats a defect in the signing formalities themselves is a question the section doesn’t answer directly, which is another reason to meet each one.
What the section leaves out matters too. It requires no recording, filing or registration, and no other section of Article 3 adds one. It doesn’t list grounds such as nondisclosure of assets, duress or unfairness for refusing enforcement, and it sets no test for whether an agreement will be enforced in a divorce. Those questions are decided by the courts, and the answer depends on the facts. Section 19-3-63 sets the same three formalities for marriage contracts made in contemplation of marriage; § 19-3-60 defines “antenuptial agreement”; and § 19-3-66 says who may enforce one. The current text dates from 2018.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a prenup valid in Georgia?
Under this section, an antenuptial agreement must be in writing, signed by both parties who agree to be bound, and attested by at least two witnesses, one of whom must be a notary public. Those are the formal requirements the statute sets. Whether a court enforces a particular agreement can also turn on facts and legal questions the section doesn’t address, so outcomes vary from case to case.
Does a Georgia prenup need to be notarized?
Yes, in the sense that a notary public must be one of the witnesses. The section requires attestation by at least two witnesses, one of whom shall be a notary public. A notary alone, with no second witness, doesn’t satisfy the two-witness requirement as written. The agreement must also be in writing and signed by both parties.
Do I have to file or record my prenup in Georgia?
Neither this section nor the rest of Article 3 requires recording or filing a prenup. The requirements the statute sets are a writing, the signatures of both parties who agree to be bound, and attestation by at least two witnesses, one of whom is a notary public. Recording isn’t on that list.
Will a court throw out my prenup because of sloppy wording?
Not for that reason alone. The section says antenuptial agreements shall be liberally construed to carry into effect the intention of the parties, and no want of form or technical expression shall invalidate them. The court reads the agreement for what the parties meant. The signing and witness requirements are a separate matter, and the section states those in mandatory terms.
Can a Georgia prenup be challenged for unfairness or hidden assets?
This section doesn’t address those grounds. It sets the formal requirements and the rule of liberal construction, and it says nothing about financial disclosure, duress or fairness. Challenges of that kind are decided by the courts on the facts of each case, not by a test written into this section. A family law attorney can explain how Georgia courts approach them.
Amendment History
Laws 2018, Act 305, § 1-1, eff. July 1, 2018.
Formerly Code 1863, § 1724; Code 1868, § 1765; Code 1873, § 1775; Code 1882, § 1775; Civil Code 1895, § 2480; Civil Code 1910, § 2999; Code 1933, § 53-401.