How does a prenuptial agreement work? Step by step from choice to registration

Factual information verified: October 1, 2026 · Marriage Code Chapter 7 and the Swedish Tax Agency

A prenuptial agreement works in two steps: first, you decide which property is to be separate property or return to being marital property; then, you draw up a formally correct document and register it with the Swedish Tax Agency. The agreement does not take legal effect as a prenuptial agreement through signatures alone.

1. Inventory what you actually own

Start by listing major assets: homes, businesses, shares, accounts, vehicles, holiday homes, and other valuable property. Note who owns each asset and if it is already separate property on any legal basis.

Property that is already separate, for example through conditions in a gift or will, does not need to be made separate again through a prenuptial agreement.

2. Decide what shall be separate property

You can choose a broad or narrow approach. A prenuptial agreement can cover all property belonging to one or both spouses, or only certain specifically identified assets.

For example, you can make a business separate property but allow the home, savings, and other property to remain marital property.

3. Decide what applies to returns

Returns on separate property are, as a general rule, marital property unless otherwise prescribed. If shares are to be separate property and the dividends are also to be separate, the wording must therefore cover the returns.

However, what replaces separate property is also, as a general rule, separate, unless otherwise prescribed. Traceable documentation is important when assets are sold and replaced.

4. Write so the property can be identified

Avoid vague terms such as “my important assets” or “what I had before we met.” Instead, specify, for example, the property designation, the identification of the cooperative apartment, company name and registration number, or a clear category of future property.

If all current and future property of a certain spouse is to be separate, that must also be clearly stated.

Can you write that the agreement only applies in the event of a divorce?

The Swedish Tax Agency’s current legal guidance states that spouses cannot time-limit or condition prenuptial agreements. This means you should not base an agreement on conditions such as the property being separate “only in the event of divorce,” “only for the first five years,” or until a future event occurs.

If you want to change the arrangement later, this is done through a new registered prenuptial agreement.

5. Date and sign

The prenuptial agreement must be in writing, dated, and personally signed by both spouses or future spouses. The law does not require witnesses in the way a will does.

The Swedish Tax Agency’s legal guidance states that the spouses do not need to sign at exactly the same time. The important thing is that both have personally signed the document to be registered.

6. Register with the Swedish Tax Agency

Registration is part of the validity requirements. The Swedish Tax Agency’s current fee is SEK 275.

If you are not yet married

A prenuptial agreement between future spouses is valid from the date of the wedding if it is submitted for registration within one month after the wedding. If it is submitted later, it is valid from the day the document was received by the Swedish Tax Agency.

If you are already married

A prenuptial agreement between spouses is valid from the day it is submitted to the Swedish Tax Agency for registration.

If a divorce application has already been filed

The Swedish Tax Agency’s legal guidance, updated October 1, 2026, explains that an ongoing divorce process does not in itself constitute a formal obstacle to registration. However, in property division due to divorce, the starting point is normally the property conditions on the day the application for divorce was filed (Marriage Code Chapter 9, Section 2). A subsequently submitted prenuptial agreement may therefore lack effect for that specific property division, even if registration is possible. A final divorce judgment, on the other hand, means the marriage is dissolved and constitutes a formal obstacle to registration. Therefore, check the date and seek legal advice if a divorce is already underway.

Source: Swedish Tax Agency legal guidance – prenuptial agreement, updated October 1, 2026.

7. Store the document and check it during major changes

Keep a copy of the registered document together with supporting documents that make the specified property easy to identify. Review the setup if you sell businesses, move house, receive large gifts/inheritances, or otherwise want to change what is to be separate property.

How do you change or revoke a prenuptial agreement?

You make a new prenuptial agreement and register it. When property has previously been made separate through a prenuptial agreement, a new agreement can decide that it should again be marital property.

It is different if the property is separate due to conditions from a third party in a gift or will. A new prenuptial agreement cannot freely override that person's conditions.

What happens in the event of a divorce?

In property division, marital property is included as a general rule, while separate property is normally kept out. The prenuptial agreement therefore becomes a central document when determining which property is included in the property division.

Read more in our step-by-step guide to property division in the event of divorce.

What happens in the event of death?

Even in the event of death, the prenuptial agreement can affect the preceding property division by keeping certain property out as separate. However, who inherits thereafter is determined by the Inheritance Code and any will – not by the prenuptial agreement itself.

Practical checklist before registration

• Are both parties correctly identified?
• Is each asset or category sufficiently clearly described?
• Is it clear who owns the property?
• Have you decided what applies to returns?
• Have you avoided time conditions and other conditional setups?
• Is the document dated and signed by both?
• Is the correct document ready to be sent to the Swedish Tax Agency?

See also When is a prenuptial agreement needed? and the main guide on separate property and registration.

Choose the right document for the situation

When the purpose is to transfer property through property division, rather than changing the classification of the property, read property division during marriage – what documents and notifications are required.

A template for prenuptial agreements before the wedding (SEK 79) is intended for future spouses. If you want to exclude a specific business or home, compare prenuptial agreement for specifically identified property (SEK 79). For a far-reaching setup where all property is to be separate, there is simple prenuptial agreement (SEK 49). See also the comparison between different setups. Each template must be adapted to the parties' actual property and registered to have effect as a prenuptial agreement.

Sources

• Marriage Code (1987:230), especially Chapter 7
• Swedish Tax Agency – prenuptial agreement