Also known as:adequate financial disclosures · financial disclosure · full financial disclosure
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A reasonably accurate description and good-faith estimate of one party's property, liabilities, and income furnished to the other party before execution of a premarital agreement or waiver of elective-share rights. The disclosure satisfies the requirement when the recipient obtains the information directly, expressly waives further disclosure in a separate signed record, or already possesses adequate knowledge or a reasonable basis for such knowledge. Absence of this disclosure renders the agreement unenforceable upon proper challenge.
Sources & Authorities· 7 primary sources
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Cases
Uniform Acts
Casebooks
How it applies
Common Examples
3
Omitted Liabilities in Premarital Agreement
Alice Atkins, a schoolteacher, met with her developer fiancé two days before the wedding to sign a premarital agreement. He handed her a net-worth statement listing assets at $2.5 million but omitted $800,000 in liabilities on two properties. Alice signed without independent counsel or a separate waiver of disclosure. When the omitted liabilities surfaced after the wedding, the agreement became unenforceable because Alice had not received adequate financial disclosure before signing.
Incomplete Net-Worth Summary for Elective-Share Waiver
Alexandra Armstrong, a journalist, received a one-page net-worth summary from her media-mogul husband that lumped personal and corporate holdings together and omitted several offshore accounts. She signed a postnuptial waiver of her elective share without a separate disclosure waiver or independent counsel. After his death, the incomplete summary prevented enforcement of the waiver because Alexandra had not received adequate financial disclosure.
Missing Asset Values in Marital Settlement
Anika Anand challenged a marital settlement agreement after discovering her surgeon husband had concealed recent clinic-expansion liabilities and current pension valuations. She had received only a thick packet of documents during a rushed lunch break and lacked independent counsel. The Florida court set the agreement aside because Anika had not received full, frank financial disclosure at the time of execution.
Common questions
Frequently Asked
4
What makes financial disclosure adequate under the uniform acts?+
Adequate financial disclosure requires a reasonably accurate description and good-faith estimate of the other party's property, liabilities, and income. It is also satisfied if the recipient signs a separate written waiver of further disclosure or already possesses adequate knowledge of the information.
Supporting sources
Does signing a premarital agreement without disclosure always make it unenforceable?+
No. The agreement is unenforceable only if the challenging party proves inadequate disclosure and meets one of the other statutory grounds such as involuntariness or lack of independent counsel. A bare signature alone does not cure the absence of required disclosure.
Supporting sources
Can general knowledge of a spouse's business substitute for formal disclosure?+
General awareness of a spouse's industry or projects does not satisfy the requirement when specific liabilities or valuations are omitted. The statute demands a reasonably accurate description at the time of signing rather than an inference from prior familiarity.
Supporting sources
When does the burden shift in a challenge based on inadequate disclosure?+
Once the challenging spouse shows the agreement is unfair or unreasonable and that full, frank disclosure was lacking, the burden shifts to the defending spouse to prove the agreement was entered freely and with sufficient knowledge.
Supporting sources
Family LawGetting married · Premarital contractsUBEFoundational