Also known as: nuptial agreements · antenuptial agreement · postnuptial agreement
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A written agreement between spouses or prospective spouses addressing classification or division of assets. In dissolution proceedings the court considers any such agreement when equitably apportioning property and assets belonging to either or both parties.
Neil Nair and Nia Nkosi married and later signed a written postnuptial agreement designating Neil's startup stock options as his individual property. After the company was acquired, Nia sought half the proceeds in their dissolution proceeding. The court classified the options as Neil's separate property under the agreement and assigned them to him without division.
Nikhil Narayan and Natasha Nielsen were about to marry and entered a written antenuptial agreement allocating business assets acquired during their relationship. When they later separated, Natasha claimed the agreement was unenforceable. The court considered the agreement as a factor in apportioning property under applicable dissolution statutes.
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Norman Nash and Nalini Narula were about to marry and signed a written antenuptial agreement directing use of frozen embryos in the event of divorce. After separation, Norman sought implantation contrary to the document. The court refused to enforce the agreement because it altered an essential incident of the marital relationship.
No. Under governing marital property statutes, a written agreement signed by both spouses reallocating property rights is enforceable without any bargained-for exchange or monetary payment.
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Yes. A written marital agreement expressly designating stock options as one spouse's individual property overcomes the presumption that assets acquired during marriage are marital property.
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No. Even when a postnuptial agreement authorizes an arbitrator to grant any relief a family court could order, the arbitrator lacks authority to alter marital status through annulment or divorce.
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It may still be enforceable if the document is signed by both spouses and meets statutory formalities. Lack of counsel alone does not invalidate the agreement absent fraud, duress, or unconscionability.
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…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…