Many married couples told me that they didn’t know they need a prenup in the first place. They didn’t know the importance of a prenup. Nobody told them about it. Not even government officers. Well, at least that’s what they’ve told me.

Now that they are married, it’s too late for a prenup. It must be done before the marriage. That’s why they called it PREnup. Getting divorce and write a prenup is even sillier than getting a back-dated prenup. So, What they’re suppose to do? They need to get a postnup!

Getting a postnup for married couples can be as painless as having a prenup, if you know how to do it right. First, the significant difference between postnup and prenup is the time when you sign the contract. You sign the prenup before you get marry, and you sign the postnup during the course of your marriage. Second, most of the terms and conditions applicable for prenup are also applicable to postnup. Both of them are contract. They are treated the same in Indonesian law. Third, they must be written in Indonesian language. Fourth, they must choose one of the Indonesian courts as the forum to resolve the potential disputes. I can give you a bunch of other regulations regarding postnup and prenup, but those four items are the priorities when you decided to get a postnup. Lastly, postnup requires a court registration. I’ve seen some comments that court registration is not important for the legality of the marital contract. Well, it’s piece of crap. Forgive my language.  You do that, and you will end-up with worthless piece of paper. Your postnup will not valid against other third party, and that includes the government agencies such as BPN, bank as the financier, and other related party that may have interest in your property ownership regime.

The other significant difference when it come to postnup is that one spouse gets to sign an affidavit of release and discharge. It says that one spouse is giving-up his rights in their property ownership and vested in the other spouse. This usually applicable to mixed-marriage couples where a foreign spouse has 50 % share of their property ownership. This is applicable because they didn’t sign any prenup and therefore joint property ownership is running in their vein. As you can see, the affidavit of release and discharge is very important and you may call it as the essence of your postnup.

I received many questions regarding the property they currently owned. In terms of mixed-marriages, usually they acquired it via risky purchases like using fake marital status in their ID cards, or getting some family members as a nominee. Should that property listed on the postnup? I would say yes. Why? Because the postnup serves retroactively. It also valid backward to the property previously purchased before they sign any postnup. If you want to solve the problem, you need to be honest to your self and the people that will help you getting your postnup legally valid. It has nothing to do with taxation, or any other financial obligations. They won’t knock on your door at night and asking your property credentials. It’s not happening here.

You see now why you should get your own postnup? It’s a painless solution to your legal issues in your marriage. Child support of previous marriage, alimony, foreign property ownership. You name it, the postnup can handle it.

Our thanks to Asep Wijaya, Managing Director of Wijaya & Company for his contribution of this article.

Disclaimer:

The above is provided for informational purposes only and is NOT to be relied upon as legal advice. This information is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney and should not be construed as a solicitation. No attorney-client relationship is established by use of information found within this article nor in this website.