Also known as: premarital contracts · pre-marital contract · pre-marital contracts · prenuptial agreement · antenuptial agreement
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A written agreement between prospective spouses made in contemplation of marriage that is intended to affect their rights in property or support and that becomes effective only upon the occurrence of the marriage.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Portia Price and Philip Powell signed a written agreement before their wedding that allocated all future business profits to the operating spouse. After five years of marriage Philip expanded the company using marital funds. In the divorce proceeding the court considered the premarital agreement when equitably apportioning the expanded assets between the parties.
Preston Pratt and Phoebe Park executed a premarital contract that kept each spouse's future intellectual property royalties as separate property. During the marriage they deposited royalty proceeds into a joint account for family expenses. Upon divorce the court enforced the agreement and classified the royalty streams according to its terms rather than marital property rules.
Pedro Pacheco presented Phoebe Park with a premarital agreement waiving spousal support one week before their wedding. He supplied only a single-property financial statement despite owning multiple businesses. In later divorce proceedings the court examined whether the limited disclosure rendered the agreement unenforceable for lack of informed consent.
A premarital agreement does not take effect merely because the parties sign it while engaged. It becomes effective only when the contemplated marriage actually occurs. Once the marriage takes place the agreement operates by law without further action.
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A signed marital property agreement between spouses is enforceable without consideration. The statute dispenses with any requirement of a bargained-for exchange or monetary payment so long as the formal writing requirement is met.
…of Dawley (1976) 17 Cal.3d 342 [131 Cal. Rptr. 3, 551 P.2d 323] offers a close analogy. Rejecting the contention that an antenuptial agreement is invalid if the parties contemplated a marriage of short duration, we pointed out in Dawley that a standard based upon the subjective contemplation of the parties is uncertain and…
…Francisco was aware of and acquiesced in this conduct. In addition, Francisco gave Connell an engagement ring and had a prenuptial agreement
…v. Stansel , 385 Mass. 510 (1982) (enforcing separation agreement); Rosenberg v. Lipnick , 377 Mass. 666, 673 (1979) (enforcing
…not possibly afford to keep or to maintain. “Appellant’s plight was predictable, especially to decedent who, at the time of the antenuptial agreement
…[citations]; the record demonstrates that Betty did not rely on the advice and integrity of James in entering into the antenuptial agreement
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Subsequent pooling of proceeds into a joint account does not automatically nullify or revoke the written agreement. The agreement continues to control classification unless the parties execute a formal written modification that satisfies statutory requirements.
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The agreement is unenforceable if the party against whom enforcement is sought proves that before signing the party did not receive a reasonably accurate description and good-faith estimate of the other party's property, liabilities, and income or lack a reasonable basis for such knowledge.
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Consent is involuntary when the circumstances surrounding execution leave the party with no reasonable alternative but to sign under coercive pressure such as an imminent threat of homelessness for the party and children combined with last-minute presentation and absence of counsel.
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