Jewish Prenuptial Agreement

THE BEST TOOL TO PREVENT GET REFUSAL THUS FAR

The best tool to prevent get refusal is the use of Jewish prenuptial agreements, that are valid both according to Jewish and secular law. Signed by the bride and groom before the wedding, it ensures that the get will be given at a designated beit din, as an arbitration forum. Appearance at the beit din can be enforced by secular law as opposed to stipulations in a divorce settlement that simply state the husband will give the get (or the wife will receive it), that cannot be enforced by the secular courts due to separation of religion and state. The form must be signed by the pride, groom, and at least two witnesses, in the presence of a notary.

In 2014, Esther Macner spearheaded the revision of the Beth Din of America (BDA) prenup to conform with California law. Because California has very specific rules about prenuptial agreements, there is a special version of the prenuptial agreement for California residents that can be found below.

We recommend that both the BDA agreement and the Tri-Partite Agreement listed below, be signed before the wedding.

The Beth Din of America Prenuptial Agreement for California

For full instructions and the form itself, please go to the Beth Din of America website. A full explanation of the prenuptial agreement and its halakhic basis can be found on the Beth Din of America's website, theprenup.org. It also includes other versions of the prenup for different states, relying on the same underlying note legal basis.

If you or your prospective groom/bride have questions on how to sign and implement the prenup, please contact Esther Macner, Esq at [email protected] or contact the BDA directly via their website, or both.

The Tri-Partite agreement

This agreement is called "The Tripartite Agreement" because it combines three different halakhic mechanisms to give a Jewish divorce together into one agreement to free a woman who is an agunah. Please read the instructions carefully on how to sign the agreement and how to implement it. It aims to prevent the classic agunah problem from arising-- where the husband disappears or refuses to abide by Rabbinic court rulings. Unlike the BDA prenup, it works without any intervention from the secular court.

This agreement was proposed by Rabbi Michael Broyde and promoted by Dr. Rachel Levmore, To'enet Rabbanit. The agreement, instructions, and articles explaining the agreement are at: jewishprenup.org.

For more information about the Tri-partite agreement, please contact us.