Also known as: antenuptial contract · antenuptial agreement · antenuptial agreements · prenuptial agreement · prenuptial agreements · premarital agreement · premarital agreements
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A written agreement between two individuals who intend to marry that affirms, modifies, or waives rights or obligations arising from the marital relationship, including property division and support. The agreement takes effect only upon a valid marriage and remains subject to enforceability requirements such as voluntary consent, adequate disclosure, and absence of unconscionability.
Andre Antoine and Abigail Alvarez signed an antenuptial contract allocating all future business assets to Andre. Five years after marriage Andre's company collapsed, leaving Abigail with no support and substantial medical debt from an unforeseen illness. Abigail petitions the court to refuse enforcement of the support-waiver term because of the material change in circumstances.
Arthur Abrams and Amelia Amari entered an antenuptial contract designating Arthur's pre-marital real-estate portfolio as separate property. Upon dissolution the court must equitably apportion marital assets while considering the contract's allocation, the duration of the marriage, and each spouse's contributions to appreciation of the portfolio.
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Aaron Adams and Ava Adebayo signed an antenuptial contract before marrying that pooled earnings and assets. After separation Aaron claims the agreement is enforceable because it satisfies all statutory formation requirements and does not rest on sexual services as consideration.
Atlas Ventures founder Andre placed substantial stock in an inter-vivos trust shortly before marrying Abigail. After his death Abigail seeks to reach the trust assets despite an antenuptial contract waiving elective-share rights, testing whether the waiver survives the trust arrangement.
Amelia Amari and Arthur Abrams executed an antenuptial contract specifying that frozen preembryos created during marriage would be donated to research upon divorce. After separation Amelia revokes consent and seeks to prevent implantation or donation, claiming changed circumstances override the earlier allocation.
The contract becomes effective only upon the occurrence of a valid marriage. Signing alone does not trigger its operation. The parties must actually marry for the agreement to govern their marital rights and property.
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A party challenging enforcement may show lack of voluntary consent, absence of independent legal representation, missing conspicuous waiver notice, or inadequate financial disclosure. Any one of these defects can render the agreement unenforceable.
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Yes. Under the Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act a court may decline to enforce a term if enforcement would cause substantial hardship to a party because of a material change arising after signing, even if the term was not unconscionable when made.
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The court must consider the antenuptial agreement when apportioning property, along with factors such as marriage duration, each spouse's contributions, and future earning capacity, but the agreement does not automatically control the outcome.
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…the subjective contemplation of the parties is uncertain and unworkable; such a test, we stated, "might invalidate virtually all antenuptial agreements on the ground that the parties contemplated dissolution ... but it provides no principled basis for determining which antenuptial agreements offend public policy and which do not." (17…