The Kansas postnuptial agreement is a legal document that the parties that are already in a marriage use to determine and outline their financial and non-financial relationship. Additionally, the parties can use the postnup agreement to determine how marital property will be divided in the event of a divorce.
The main difference between a postnuptial and prenuptial agreement lies in the moment that parties are signing it. With a prenup agreement, the parties sign the document before getting married, while with a postnup agreement, the spouses are signing the agreement once they have already entered the marriage.
The spouses should sign the postnuptial agreement to outline their individual and marital property and prevent any future misunderstandings and disputes in this regard.
Laws and Legal Requirements for a Postnuptial Agreement in Kansas
The laws and legal requirements for a postnuptial agreement in Kansas are outlined in two types of legal sources:
Laws and Legal Requirements
Provisions of the state law
Precedents established from the decisions of the local courts
In the case Traster v. Traster (2014), the court refers to the postnuptial agreement as “[a]n agreement entered into during marriage to define each spouse's property rights in the event of death or divorce.”
Signing Requirements for a Postnuptial Agreement in Kansas
The state law provides that the Kansas postnuptial agreement must be made in written form. Moreover, for the postnup agreement to be considered valid, both spouses must sign the document.
The state law, however, doesn’t explicitly require the notarization of the postnup agreement. The parties should still consider completing this step since it can provide additional authenticity to the document and prevent potential fraudulent activities.
The notary public will confirm the identity of the parties and acknowledge that both of them have signed the postnup agreement by entering their signature on the document.
Postnuptial Agreement Enforcement in Kansas
The court will declare the Kansas postnuptial agreement form unenforceable if one of the parties proves that:
Postnuptial Agreement Enforcement Conditions
They have signed the document against their will
The other party hasn’t provided complete and truthful information about their financial status before signing the postnuptial agreement
The court can also declare a postnuptial agreement invalid in part if it regulates matters like custody, residency, visitation, parenting time, support, or education of the minor children since these matters can only be decided upon by the court.
What Can a Postnuptial Agreement in Kansas Cover?
The postnuptial agreement in Kansas can cover multiple matters connected to the relationship between two spouses. However, all the provisions included in the postnuptial agreement template must be in line with state law and public policy.
Section 23-2712 of the K.S.A. 2013 Supp. provides that the postnuptial or separation agreement can include provisions relating to a parenting plan.
Contrary to that, the state law provides that matters like legal custody, residency, visitation parenting time, support, or education of the minor children shall not be regulated by the postnup agreement and that they should be subject to the control of the court, in accordance with the provisions of the state law.
Below, you can see some of the matters that are most commonly regulated by the postnuptial agreement form:
Provisions in a Postnuptial Agreement
Rights and obligations of the spouses in connection with their individual and marital property
Rules on how the property will be divided in case of marriage dissolution, separation, death, or any similar event
Postnuptial Agreement in Kansas: Validity Criteria
The validity of the Kansas postnup agreement is connected with the formality criteria set by the state law. This means that the postnup agreement will not be considered valid if it’s not made in written form and if both parties do not sign it.
Moreover, the postnuptial agreement will not be considered valid if the parties are not married at the moment of signing the document.