/* Here is the full text of the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act.

This law governs the rights and liabilities which arise out of

the execution of pre-nuptial (premarital) agreements. These

agreements are becoming more and more frequent. Why would you

need one? In situations in which persons remarry and have

children of their own, inheritances should be addressed so that

each set of children gets what their parent intends. Of course,

there are other reasons for this, but the primary one is the

problem of children from different marriages. */

Section 1. Definitions. As used in this Act:

(1) "Premarital agreement" means an agreement between

prospective spouses made in contemplation of marriage and to be

effective upon marriage.

(2) "Property" means an interest, present or future, legal

or equitable, vested or contingent, in real or personal property,

including income and earnings.

Section 2. Formalities. A premarital agreement must be in writing

and signed by both parties. It is enforceable without

consideration.

Section 3. Content. Parties to a premarital agreement may

contract with respect to:

(1) the rights and obligations of each of the parties in any

of the property of either or both of them whenever and wherever

acquired or located;

(2) the right to buy, sell, use, transfer, exchange,

abandon, lease, consume, expend, assign, create a security

interest in, mortgage, encumber, dispose of, or otherwise manage

and control property;

(3) the disposition of property upon separation, marital

dissolution, death, or the occurrence or nonoccurrence of any

other event;

(4) the modification or elimination of spousal support;

(5) the making of a will, trust, or other arrangement to

carry out the provisions of the agreement;

(6) the ownership rights in and disposition of the death

benefit from a life insurance policy;

(7) the choice of law governing construction of the

agreement; and

/* Choice of law means which state's law governs in case the

parties move, or have property in more than one state. */

(b) The right of a child to support may not be adversely affected

by a premarital agreement.

Section 4. Effect of marriage. A premarital agreement becomes

effective upon the marriage.

Section 5. Amendment, Revocation. After marriage, a premarital

agreement may be amended or revoked only by a written agreement

signed by the parties. The amended agreement or the revocation is

enforceable without consideration.

Section 6. Enforcement. (a) A premarital agreement is not

enforceable if the party against whom enforcement is sought

proves that:

(1) the party did not execute the agreement voluntarily; or

(2) the agreement was unconscionable when it was executed

and, before execution of the agreement, that party:

(i) was not provided a fair and reasonable disclosure of the

property or financial obligations of the other party;

/* Be very careful and attorneys will generally not recommend

that a premarital agreement without disclosure be executed. */

(ii) did not voluntarily and expressly waive, in writing,

any right to disclosure of the property or financial obligations

of the other party beyond the disclosure provided; and

(iii) did not have, or reasonably could not have had, an

adequate knowledge of the property or financial obligations of

the other party.

(b) If a provision of a premarital agreement modifies or

eliminates spousal support and that modification or elimination

causes one party to the agreement to be eligible for support

under a program of public assistance at the time of separation or

marital dissolution, a court, notwithstanding the term of the

agreement, may require the other party to provide support to the

extent reasonably necessary to avoid that eligibility.

(c) An issue of unconscionability of a premarital agreement

shall be decided by the court as a matter of law.

/* This means that a jury will not decide this fact. This is an

attempt to avoid jury sympathy. */

Section 7. Enforcement; Void Marriage. If a marriage is

determined to be void, an agreement that would otherwise have

been a premarital agreement is enforceable only to the extent

necessary to avoid an inequitable result.

Section 8. Limitation of actions. Any statute of limitations

applicable to an action asserting a claim for relief under a

premarital agreement is tolled during the marriage of the parties

to the agreement. However, equitable defenses limiting the time

for enforcement, including laches and estoppel, are available to

either party.

/* "Tolling a statute of limitations" means that the time for the

suit to be brought does not begin until the marriage is over

subject to the statement that the parties cannot mislead one

another by a failure to act (laches and estoppel). */

Section 9. Application and construction. This Act shall be

applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make

uniform the law with respect to the subject of this Act among

states enacting it.