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The New Mexico prenuptial agreement is a legal document used by the future spouses to determine their financial relationship. It is often used when one or both parties enter the marriage with certain assets and want to keep them as individual property.
This document can also be used when one of the parties has certain liabilities from the period before the marriage, such as credit card debt, mortgages, and more.
Parties don’t only use the prenuptial agreement after marriage. They can also use a prenup agreement to determine their rights and responsibilities for the property they acquire during the marriage.
Laws and Legal Requirements for a Prenuptial Agreement in New Mexico
All the laws and legal requirements for a prenuptial agreement in New Mexico are included in Chapter 40, Article 3A of the New Mexico Statutes.
The state law refers to the prenuptial agreement as the premarital agreement and provides that it is “an agreement between prospective spouses made in contemplation of marriage and to be effective upon marriage.”
Moreover, it defines property as “an interest, present or future, legal or equitable, vested or contingent, in real or personal property, including income and earnings.”
Signing Requirements for a Prenuptial Agreement in New Mexico
Section 40-3A-3 provides that the prenuptial agreement must be made in written form and signed and acknowledged by both parties.
Here, the state law requires the notarization of both parties' signatures. The notary public will confirm the identity of the parties and acknowledge that they have both signed the prenuptial agreement. This additionally confirms the authenticity of the document and prevents potential fraudulent activities and disputes.
Prenuptial Agreement Enforcement in New Mexico
The court might declare the New Mexico prenuptial agreement unenforceable if one of the parties proves that:
Prenuptial Agreement Enforcement Conditions
They have not signed the agreement voluntarily
The other party has not completely or truthfully disclosed their financial status in the agreement
They did not have, or reasonably could not have, adequate knowledge of the property or financial obligations of the other party
Moreover, if the marriage is declared void by the court, it will be unenforceable to the extent necessary to avoid an inequitable result.
What Can a Prenuptial Agreement in New Mexico Cover?
The prenuptial agreement template can cover different kinds of provisions depending on the matters the parties want to define and regulate.
Therefore, the parties can include the following provisions in the prenup agreement:
Provisions in a Prenuptial Agreement
Rights and obligations of each party in terms of their individual property
Right to buy, sell, use, transfer, exchange, abandon, lease, or otherwise manage the property acquired during the marriage
Agreement on how the parties will share the property accumulated during the marriage in case of separation, divorce, death, or other similar event
The creation of a will, trust, or any other arrangement that will have an effect on the party’s financial status or property
The parties must make sure all the provisions of the prenuptial agreement are in line with state law and don’t violate public policy.
Prenuptial Agreement in New Mexico: Validity Criteria
The basic violation that can have an effect on the validity of the prenuptial agreement is not following the formality criteria set by the state law. In other words, if the parties don’t make the prenup agreement in written form and don’t include acknowledged signatures by both parties in it, the agreement will be considered invalid. Moreover, the validity of the prenup agreement is also connected to the existence of the marriage. This means that the prenup agreement will be invalid if the parties don’t get married after signing it.