The Colorado prenuptial agreement is a legal document signed between the partners who are about to enter marriage. They use this document to outline their financial status by listing all the assets and liabilities they have accumulated before the marriage.
The partners then use the agreement to indicate which part of their assets and liabilities is going to be considered individual property even after they get married. The partners can include any funds, real estate, interest in companies and businesses, bonds, or stocks in the prenuptial or prenup agreement.
The partners can also denote a protocol for sharing the property gained during the marriage in case they get divorced. They can use the prenuptial agreement after marriage to simplify the property division process and prevent potential disputes.
Laws and Legal Requirements for a Prenuptial Agreement in Colorado
Section 14-2-301 to 14-2-313 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, also called the Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act, is the document that contains the basic legal requirements for the Colorado prenuptial agreement act.
Section 14-2-302 provides that the marital agreement is “[...] an agreement between spouses who intend to remain married that affirms, modifies, or waives a marital right or obligation during the marriage or at legal separation, marital dissolution, death of one of the spouses, or the occurrence or nonoccurrence of any other event. The term includes an amendment, signed after the spouses marry, of a premarital agreement or marital agreement.”
Signing Requirements for a Prenuptial Agreement in Colorado
Section 14-2-306 provides that the prenuptial or premarital agreement must be made in writing. Moreover, both parties must sign the document in order for it to be valid.
Although it is not required by state law, signing the prenuptial agreement in front of a notary public is always advisable. The notary public acknowledgment will additionally confirm the authenticity of the document and prevent any future disputes or fraudulent activities.
Prenuptial Agreement Enforcement in Colorado
The prenuptial agreement form is deemed unenforceable if one of the parties proves that:
Prenuptial Agreement Enforcement Conditions
They didn’t sign the agreement willingly
They didn’t have a chance to consult their lawyer before signing the agreement
The agreement didn’t clearly indicate the changes that would be made to one of the partner's rights (in case there was no lawyer that the party could consult)
The other party didn’t provide complete information about their financial status in the agreement
Additionally, if the agreement includes provisions about alimony that are extremely unfair to one of the partners, the court can declare these provisions unenforceable.
What Can a Prenuptial Agreement in Colorado Cover?
A prenuptial agreement template can cover various types of provisions, including:
Provisions in a Prenuptial Agreement
Provisions that outline the individual and marital property of the future spouses
Rules on dividing marital property in the event of a marriage dissolution
Rules on dividing individual employee benefits and retirement plans
Provisions regarding the repayment of the mortgage, credit cards, and other loans after the potential dissolution of the marriage
Provisions regarding the alimony
Provisions regarding the right to manage or sell the marital property during the marriage
Prenuptial Agreement in Colorado: Validity Criteria
The following provisions won’t be deemed valid before the court:
Prenuptial Agreement Validity
Provisions about the custody over children that harm the child’s right to get financial support
Provisions that alter the reasons the court can use to dissolve the marriage
Provisions that include penalties for the party that initiates the dissolution of the marriage before the court
Provisions that violate public policy
Moreover, the rules outlined in the Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act are applicable only to prenuptial agreements issued after July 1, 2014. However, they don’t affect the validity of the agreements issued before this date.