Marital Agreements: Customizing Your Marital Property Rules

Premarital Agreement. If the of notion reading, much less signing, a contract drafted by a lawyer as a prelude to your marriage makes you want to cancel the wedding, then don’t despair but instead read on, because for some persons—including some persons of ordinary financial circumstances—negotiating and signing a premarital agreement may be an essential element of your marriage.

Postnuptial Agreement. In some states, married couples may execute legally enforceable postnuptial marital property agreements.

Uniform Premarital Agreement Act. The Uniform Premarital Agreement Act has been adopted in 47 jurisdictions (46 states and the District of Columbia). The states that have adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act are: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusets, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey,  New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.