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The South Carolina prenuptial agreement is a legal document that outlines the basic rules for how future spouses will regulate their financial relationship during or after marriage.
There are multiple phases of marriage that the parties can use the prenuptial agreement for:
Prenuptial Agreement Across Marriage Phases
Parties can use the prenuptial agreement before marriage to determine the property they have accumulated before the marriage and make an agreement on what part of their property will become part of the marital property
They can use the prenuptial agreement during the marriage to determine each spouse's rights and obligations for the property accumulated during the marriage
The parties can use the prenuptial agreement after marriage to determine how they will divide the marital property
Laws and Legal Requirements for a Prenuptial Agreement in South Carolina
The laws and legal requirements for a prenuptial agreement in South Carolina are mostly based on the precedents established by the state courts and a few provisions of the state law. This is mainly due to the fact that South Carolina hasn’t adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act.
Holler v. Holler, 364 S.C. 256 (2005) provides that:
“Antenuptial settlements are contracts or agreements entered into between a man and woman before marriage, but in contemplation and generally in consideration of marriage, whereby the property rights and interests of either the prospective husband or wife, or of both of them, are determined, or where the property is secured to either of them, to both of them or to their children.
An antenuptial contract is valid and will be upheld when, and only when, it is entered into freely, fairly, and in good faith by parties legally competent to contract. An antenuptial agreement must be free from duress, fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, or overreaching. Further, the agreement must not be unconscionable.”
Signing Requirements for a Prenuptial Agreement in South Carolina
In South Carolina, both parties to the agreement must sign the document.
Although the state law doesn’t require the notarization of the prenuptial agreement in South Carolina, parties should still consider completing this step if possible. The notarization will provide additional confirmation of the document’s authenticity and prevent potential fraudulent activities.
Prenuptial Agreement Enforcement in South Carolina
The South Carolina prenuptial agreement form is deemed unenforceable if one of the parties proves that:
Prenuptial Agreement Enforcement Conditions
They have signed the document involuntarily
They didn’t have a chance to consult their lawyer before signing the agreement
The document didn’t clearly indicate what changes the agreement would make towards their rights (if the party could not consult their lawyer)
The other party didn’t provide complete or truthful information about their financial status in the agreement
Moreover, if the agreement includes provisions about spousal support that are extremely unfair to one of the parties, these provisions will also be considered unenforceable.
What Can a Prenuptial Agreement in South Carolina Cover?
The prenuptial agreement in South Carolina can cover any matter connected with the parties’ financial status during or after the marriage. However, the provisions must be in line with state law and public policy.
Below, you can see some of the most common matters that the prenuptial agreement template can regulate:
Provisions in a Prenuptial Agreement
Provisions that outline the individual and marital property of the future spouses
Right to sell, buy, lease, mortgage, transfer, or manage the property accumulated during the marriage
Rules on how the property will be divided between the spouses in case of a divorce, marriage dissolution, death, or other similar event
Provisions regulating the coverage of the liabilities in case of a divorce
Matters connected to alimony, insurance policies, wills, trusts, and more
Prenuptial Agreement in South Carolina: Validity Criteria
The prenuptial agreement will be considered invalid if it doesn’t meet the formality criteria set for the prenuptial agreement. This implies that for the prenuptial agreement to be considered valid, both spouses must sign it.
Moreover, the prenup agreement will be invalid if the parties don’t get married after signing it.