A premarital (also, prenuptial or prenup) agreement is an agreement entered into by two people who plan on getting married. This agreement sets the rights of each person to the property of the other in the event of a divorce or death. Generally, a premarital agreement must meet the following five requirements:

1. The agreement must be in writing;

2. Both parties must voluntarily execute the agreement;

3. The parties must execute the agreement in front of a notary;

4. Parties must disclose each material fact pertaining to the agreement to the other party (e.g., husband cannot hide the existence of his assets from his wife); and

5. Agreement must not be unconscionable (i.e., unreasonably detrimental to the interest of one of the contracting parties).

To get a general sense of state laws pertaining to premarital agreements, you can review the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act ("UPAA"): The National Conference of Commissioners of Uniform State Laws approved the UPAA in 1983. The text of the UPAA is available on the Internet. Currently, the following states have adopted the UPAA:

• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Maine
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• South Dakota
• Texas
• Utah
• Virginia
• Wisconsin

Other Resources

• Sample Premarital Agreements
• Reasons a Premarital Agreement May Be Declared Invalid
• Other Resources