Your prenup planning checklist.

1. Start early

Know your wedding timeline and give both people meaningful time to consider the agreement and retain counsel.

2. Inventory your finances

• Real estate
• Bank and brokerage accounts
• Retirement accounts
• Businesses and ownership interests
• Stock options, RSUs, carried interests, or deferred compensation
• Trusts, gifts, and expected inheritance
• Cryptocurrency and alternative assets
• Loans, credit cards, tax obligations, and other debt

3. Identify the decisions

Think about separate property, future earnings, savings, business growth, real estate, debt, support, and estate-planning coordination.

4. Retain counsel

Ask counsel about the rules that apply in your state, including any timing, disclosure, representation, or execution requirements.

5. Keep the process documented

Preserve disclosure records, drafts, communications, and signed documents in an organized file.