Handed a marital agreement: sign it or have it reviewed?

Doesn’t the notary review the agreement for me?

The notary does not review the agreement on your behalf alone. A notary acts impartially for everyone involved and represents neither side § 14 (1) sentence 2 BNotO. The notary has to find out what you want and explain the legal scope of the deed to you § 17 (1) BeurkG. Whether an arrangement makes financial sense for you is not something the notary judges, because that would mean advising you against the other side.

Whoever engages the notary usually supplies the key points as well. So the draft that reaches you often reflects what the other side wants, cleanly worded and legally permissible. Permissible is still a long way from balanced. At the appointment, the notary’s explanation tells you what a clause does. It does not tell you whether you want that.

Can the other side’s lawyer advise me as well?

No. A lawyer may not represent two sides with conflicting interests § 43a (4) BRAO, and in a marital agreement the interests almost always diverge at some point. If the other side prepared the draft with its own legal advice, nobody on that side is there to answer your questions.

Advice of your own is therefore the only advice your side has in this process. In the end, it benefits the other side too, because an agreement on which both were advised is more likely to withstand later review by a court. Who does what in a marital agreement is described in Marital agreement: lawyer or notary, do I need both?

Do I have to sign before the wedding?

No. A marital agreement can be concluded at any time, even years after the wedding § 1408 (1) BGB. The registry office (Standesamt) does not ask whether you have one, and the marriage is just as valid without it.

For marital agreements, the law sets no minimum period between the draft and notarization. The two weeks people often mention apply to contracts between businesses and consumers, for instance when you buy an apartment from a developer § 17 (2a) sentence 2 no. 2 BeurkG. That makes the time you give yourself all the more important. You can postpone the notary appointment, and without your signature there is no agreement.

Will a one-sided agreement hold up in court later?

In most cases, yes: a court only strikes down a marital agreement if it burdens one side unfairly and that side was in the weaker position when it was signed. Unequal assets and a traditional division of roles are not enough, as the Federal Court of Justice confirmed in 2025 BGH, decision of May 28, 2025, XII ZB 395/24. It takes additional circumstances, such as a predicament or economic dependence.

A pregnancy at the time of signing counts as a sign of a weaker bargaining position. On its own, it does not make the agreement contrary to public policy, but it calls for particularly close scrutiny BGH, judgment of July 5, 2006, XII ZR 25/04. So if you sign today and hope for a correction later, you carry the risk that the agreement holds. How the courts review an agreement in detail is explained in When is a marital agreement invalid?

Six places to read first in the draft

In the draft, read the property regime, pension rights, maintenance, the inheritance waiver, the choice of law and the preamble first. Keep your plans for work and children beside you as you read, because each of these clauses plays out differently depending on who later cuts back at work.

• Property regime. Gütertrennung (separation of property) switches the equalization off entirely. A modifizierte Zugewinngemeinschaft (modified community of accrued gains) keeps it and only takes individual assets out. Check whether the exception stays limited to the business or the inheritance, or also covers what you build up together during the marriage. The separation regime also has consequences on death: the additional quarter of the estate falls away § 1371 (1) BGB, and so does the tax-free equalization amount § 5 ErbStG. More on this in Excluding or changing accrued gains in a marital agreement.
• Versorgungsausgleich (pension rights adjustment). If it is excluded, each side keeps only their own pension entitlements. That hits the spouse who cuts back at work for the children, and only decades later. Ask what makes up for this waiver, such as private pension provision in your name. The limits are described in When the pension rights adjustment falls away.
• Post-marital maintenance. Look out for a blanket waiver of all maintenance. Maintenance for the care of shared children can hardly be excluded, and an opening clause for the case of shared children holds the agreement together later. The details are in Settling post-marital maintenance in a marital agreement.
• Waiver of inheritance and compulsory share. It can sit in the same deed and is easily overlooked, because it has nothing to do with divorce. It takes effect on death, even in an intact marriage § 2346 BGB. In the case the Federal Court of Justice decided in 2025, it stood alongside Gütertrennung (separation of property).
• Choice of law. If your marriage has a connection to a second country, the draft may choose a different law. Under a foreign divorce law, pension rights are usually not divided either, even if the agreement never mentions them. More in Choice of law in a marital agreement for binational couples.
• Preamble. It describes how the marriage is planned: who works, whether you want children, what each side brings in. Years later, it is the most important evidence of what both of you assumed. Make sure it states your plans correctly, including a wish to have children.

What you can ask for before the appointment

Every clause is negotiable as long as nothing has been notarized. Changes in just a few places can make an agreement workable for both of you:

• an arrangement graduated by the length of the marriage instead of a complete waiver,
• an opening clause that settles maintenance and pension rights afresh once you have children together,
• a counter-benefit such as a lump sum, a property or pension provision in your name,
• a written translation if you are not confident in German § 16 (2) BeurkG,
• more time before the appointment.

A counter-benefit protects the other side as well. In the 2025 case, the agreement promised the wife €5,000 a month in maintenance once the marriage had lasted four years, and she had her own lawyer when it was notarized. The agreement held.

What a review with us covers

We read the draft with you against your plans for work, children and assets. We tell you which clauses are standard and which put a one-sided burden on you, and we suggest wording you can send to the notary or the other side. If you wish, we handle the coordination and go with you to the appointment.

At our office, attorney Dietrich Karcher handles the property regime, business assets and real estate, and attorney Mieke Karcher handles maintenance and the Versorgungsausgleich (pension rights adjustment). For the meeting, please bring:

• the draft and the date of the notary appointment,
• a rough overview of income and assets on both sides,
• the articles of association if you hold shares in a company.

The first consultation costs up to €190 plus VAT, at most €226.10 in total. If we take on your case, this fee does not apply. How further fees are calculated is set out under Costs, and what the notary charges under What does a marital agreement cost?. You are free to agree with the other side on who pays for your advice. Whoever pays, we answer to you alone.

Our page on the marital agreement describes the overall framework.