Download South Dakota Postnuptial Agreement Form [PDF]

The South Dakota postnuptial agreement is a legal document created between two spouses for the purpose of defining their financial and non-financial relationship during and after the marriage.

The parties mostly use the postnuptial agreement form to determine how they will manage their individual and marital property during the marriage. However, they also use the document to determine how the property will be divided between the parties in case they get divorced.

There is a difference between postnuptial and prenuptial agreements. While the prenup agreement becomes valid from the moment parties get married, the postnup agreement is created when they have already entered the marriage.

Laws and Legal Requirements for a Postnuptial Agreement in South Dakota

The laws and legal requirements for a postnuptial agreement in South Dakota are all outlined in state laws and court decisions. The main reason for this is that South Dakota has not adopted the Uniform Marital Agreement Act.

One of the most important court cases for determining the legality of postnuptial agreements in South Dakota is In re Est. of Smid (2008). In this case, the court once again confirmed that “postnuptial agreements are subjected to close scrutiny because of the confidential relationship between husband and wife.”

This means that the court will have an additional level of scrutiny when determining the legality of the postnuptial agreement compared to other types of contracts.

Signing Requirements for a Postnuptial Agreement in South Dakota

The state law requires the parties to make their postnuptial agreement in written form. Moreover, the state law provides that both parties to the agreement must sign the document.

Notarization, however, is not required in South Dakota. Regardless, the parties should also consider completing this step whenever possible. The notarization of the postnuptial agreement will additionally confirm the authenticity of the document and prevent potential disputes between the parties and any fraudulent activities in this regard.

Postnuptial Agreement Enforcement in South Dakota

There are multiple conditions that must be met for the South Dakota postnuptial agreement form to be considered enforceable.

Both parties must sign and execute the postnuptial agreement voluntarily. This means there should be no fraud, pressure, duress, coercion, or other means of manipulation of the spouses' will to enter the agreement.

The terms of the postnuptial agreement should be fair and reasonable for both parties to the agreement.

Each spouse should make a full disclosure of their financial status in the document. They are making a disclosure by providing a list of all the assets and liabilities they have acquired by the moment of signing the document.

What Can a Postnuptial Agreement in South Dakota Cover?

The postnuptial agreement in South Dakota can cover any aspect of the parties’ financial and non-financial relationship. This includes both the period during and the period after the marriage.

However, when filling out the postnuptial agreement template, the parties should make sure all of the provisions of the postnuptial agreement are in line with state law and public policy.

In this section, you can see some of the matters that are most commonly regulated by the provisions of the postnuptial agreement template:

Postnuptial Agreement in South Dakota: Validity Criteria

The first validity criteria for the South Dakota postnup agreement is connected with the formality criteria set for this kind of agreement. In practice, this means that the postnuptial agreement must be made in writing to be considered valid. 

Moreover, the validity of the postnup agreement also depends on the existence of the marriage. The parties can enter into a valid postnup agreement only after they have already entered into a marriage.