/* 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.