The Tripartite Agreement is a self-effectuating prenuptial agreement. It does not require the secular courts to enforce it and it can be enforced by the wife in petitioning an Orthodox Beth Din even when the husband is absent, or incapacitated or in cases of yibbum, deceased. A “halachic prenup” is generally a monetary agreement which protects solely against get-refusal, which ultimately is implemented in a secular court. In a world in which the secular courts always and faithfully enforced a financial ‘halachic prenup’ and all husbands are wealthy enough that the threat of enforcement insured compliance, and where no men ever fell in coma and were incapacitated, the halachic prenup would be the best and sole agreement to use.

The Tripartite Agreement is composed of several mechanisms: kiddushin al tnai — a conditional marriage; get beharsha’ah — appointment of a proxy to give a get; hafka’at kiddusin — annulment of the marriage through a communal ordinance and more. When combined in the same document each mechanism strengthens the other by overcoming the halakhic objections to an individual mechanism, thus contributing to the halakhic validity.

The Tripartite Agreement not only addresses typical cases of recalcitrance (which we encourage everyone to primarily address through the Beth Din of America agreement or the Heskem L’kavod Hadadi in Israel) but it also addresses four other less common situations. First, it creates a mechanism for a get to be issued when the husband is in a permanent vegetative state or otherwise absent. Second, it addresses the situation of yibbum. Third, it allows a mechanism to be in place that is effective even if no secular law enforcement is possible due to the couple living in a place where local law does not or will not enforce agreements grounded in payments of support. Finally, it allows a mechanism of enforcement when support-type agreements do not work due to the husband being judgement-proof.

No. The Tripartite Agreement has no impact on either a civil marriage or the finances of the marriage. It is a purely religious agreement which will never involve the civil authorities or the secular courts.  Indeed, it never needs to be shown to such authorities.  It is not a legally binding arbitration agreement and cannot be enforced by civil court.

No. In order to effectuate The Tripartite Agreement , the wife has to take The Tripartite Agreement to a Beth Din of her choice and ask them to write a get based on the authorization found in it. So, for example, if The Tripartite Agreement had been around during World War II, and a soldier had signed it before being sent to Europe or the Pacific, no matter how long the couple would have been apart they never would have been automatically divorced. There are no automatic divorces in The Tripartite Agreement.

Under The Tripartite Agreement, a get is given and the woman may not marry a kohen — the marriage ends via a divorce ritual.

In the U.S., there is a license system to marry in most states, and the secular legal system ignores the religious component to the ceremony.  If you get a marriage license and you are civilly married, a civil divorce is needed to end a civil marriage in America. The validity of the religious marriage is not important to the secular system. This is even more so true under The Tripartite Agreement, where a get is actually given.

A related question might be- what happens if one gets common law married without any ceremony, where there is no marriage license?  A few states in America still have common law marriage, like Texas and Alabama. In any case, it is recommended that couples should get a marriage license even in states that permit “common law marriages.”  (Every state that allows common law marriages also has — and encourages — licensure.)  We are not sure exactly about this American law with certainty and this is prudent advice.

Yes.  Indeed, it must be signed prior to the halachic wedding.  No postnuptial agreement of this type is possible.

As the Tripartite Agreement includes a conditional kiddushin, it should be signed at the wedding itself, after the signing of the ketubah and just prior to the huppah. This serves as a strong indication that the kiddushin ceremony was predicated on all of the conditions delineated in the document that was just signed – without either of the couple changing their mind.

This document can only be signed much earlier in situations in which the actual eidai kiddushin (the two witnesses to the upcoming kiddushin itself) are present and will sign the document and have a bet bin sign as well; even in such a case, this is far from ideal. The two individuals who sign the document should function as the eidai kiddushin. If you do sign this document far in advance, you must either repeat the condition under the huppa or have the eidai kiddushin as the witnesses who sign the document at the earlier stage together with a three-member bet din that sign.

It is much better to recite the condition under the huppah out loud or even in a low voice so  that the husband and wife both hear it, but a written agreement alone is effective. A good solution is for both the chatan and the kallah to state the tnai without using the microphone, but so that the eidim (witnesses) and the videographer can hear the statement.

If the document is signed but no conditions are mentioned under the huppa, the best approach is to have the eidai kidushin be the witnesses for the shtar (document) as well, and to sign the shtar as close to the wedding as possible with a bet din of three present. It is always best to have the eidai kidushin also be the eidai shtar, so that they know about the conditions.  Let us add that this shtar is not a mere honor (kibbud) but is a document that creates a conditional marriage and the rules should be followed: it is best that the same eidim be used for the entire Tripartite Agreement document and for the kiddushin.  Thus, if the couple does not note the the shtar under the huppa or have the same eidim for the shtar and the kiddishin, there might be problems in enforcement. It is also advisable to have the same 2 eidim as eidei yichud if possible.

See Qs. 2 above. If that is not possible, In lieu of clarifying the conditions under the huppah – after the signing of the document and directly prior to the huppah, the chatan and the kallah can respectively stand before the two eidim appointed to witness the kiddushin, while a videographer is recording and make a declaration of the tnai, thus-

Chatan:

“אתם עדי למודעה זו–הרי אני אקדש את כלתי כדת משה וישראל על פי התנאים שכתבנו וחתמנו”

“You are my witnesses to this moda’ah: I will betroth and marry my kallah according to the laws of Moses and the people of Israel, subject to the conditions we wrote and signed.”

Kallah:

” הרי אני מסכימה לקבל מחתני קידושין כדת משה וישראל על פי התנאים שכתבנו וחתמנו”

“You are my witnesses to this moda’ah: “I will accept this proposal of marriage and kiddushin from my chatan subject to the conditions we wrote and signed.”

This agreement can be signed without the permission of the mesader kiddushin, just like any prenuptial agreement.

It is important that this agreement be signed by three men who are valid to be witnesses and thus can function as rabbinical court judges in a time of need (beit din shel hedyotot).

It is better to have a bet din of three men sign together with the witnesses. A bet din composed of rabbis is best but can consist of three men who are valid to be witnesses. If no bet din can be formed, then the document can be signed by just two witnesses.