KH friends may have heard of the term pre-marital agreement or an agreement made by the bride and groom before the wedding. Then, what about a post-marriage agreement? How come there is one? Yup, lately a new phenomenon has emerged, namely agreements made after marriage or the cool term postnuptial agreement. As the name implies, this agreement is made after the wedding procession involving each partner. The contents also vary and are not far from the world of marriage involving husband and wife. Are you curious about what a post-nuptial agreement is? Is it allowed to be done and what is its importance for domestic life? Check out the explanation below!
What is a Postnuptial Agreement
A postnuptial agreement is an agreement made by husband and wife in the form of a notarial deed after the marriage takes place. In principle, a postnuptial agreement is the same as a prenuptial agreement that regulates property in marriage, especially the separation of joint property. A postnuptial agreement can be a solution to the problems that often arise in marriage, especially when it comes to the issue of joint property. As one of the legal breakthroughs, this agreement can be implemented and its existence has been recognized in Indonesia.
Legal Basis and Validity of Post-Nuptial Agreements in Indonesia
Although it is a relatively new legal product and has caused pros and cons among the public, in fact, the post-nuptial agreement has an official legal basis! This is stated in the Constitutional Court Decision No. 69/PUU-XIII/2015. This is also the basis for the validity of the post-nuptial agreement. Where the Constitutional Court stated that marriage agreements can not only be made before marriage (pre-marriage agreements), but also after marriage takes place (post-marriage agreements). Thus, post-marital agreements are valid and remain binding on husband and wife.
What are the contents of a post-nuptial agreement?
Reporting from a paper entitled “Land Ownership by Foreigners” a commonly agreed post-nuptial agreement usually contains several things such as:
- What is the joint property of husband and wife
- What belongs to each husband or wife
- What are the responsibilities of husband and wife
- What are the assets brought by each husband or wife, whether in the form of business results, grants, or inheritance so that they can distinguish which are the husband’s assets and which are the wife’s assets.
- In the future, either husband or wife can have property on their own ownership (not become joint property/gono-gini).
What is the Importance of Making a Post-Nuptial Agreement?
For most people, the existence of a post-nuptial agreement greatly increases awareness of the importance of separating joint property in marriage, both inherited property, inherited property, and future property. In addition, the importance of a post-nuptial agreement can also be felt in the following ways:
- Gives each party to the marriage the freedom to keep their property private.
- Providing opportunities for mixed marriage couples (Indonesian-WNA), so that the right as an Indonesian citizen to own property in their own country can be fulfilled without being bound by the polemic of assets in mixed marriage regulations.
- Simplify the ownership process for property business people, where in every purchase/sale of property no longer requires the approval/signature of his/her spouse in the sale and purchase deed at the notary.
- Provide a sense of security for couples where one of them has a high occupational risk and will have consequences for their joint assets (such as debt, corruption, bankruptcy, etc.).
- The needs of children and households are more secure because if one party becomes insolvent, the other party is not affected.
Procedures for making a post-nuptial agreement
In accordance with Constitutional Court Decision No. 6/2015, couples who wish to make a post-nuptial agreement are required to attach several administrative requirements and documents such as photocopies of ID cards, family cards, and husband and wife’s marriage book. After that, the post-marriage agreement must be legalized by a notary or marriage registration officer. This is because this agreement must fulfill the element of publicity.
READ ALSO: Pre-Marital Agreement, Functions, Contents, and How to Make It
That way, a post-nuptial agreement can ‘bind’ third parties, or parties outside the couple to know and comply with the rules in the agreement made.
KH Contact
Although it is still considered a taboo by people in Indonesia, over time, many people have begun to understand the importance of making a post-nuptial agreement. This agreement is important to protect both parties from the risks of marriage that may occur in the future. Not only does it serve to clarify the separation of property in the event of a divorce, but it also serves to protect each other’s property if one party is in debt. For KH friends who also want to make a postnuptial agreement, you can contact Kontrak Hukum. We provide services for making postnuptial agreements, including notarized agreement deeds. For more information, please visit this page. Or if you have questions about other types of agreements, you can also contact us at Tanya KH or via social media Instagram @kontrakhukum.
