The Utah prenuptial agreement is a legal document that provides rules on how the property will be managed between the two future spouses. The future spouses also use the prenuptial agreement to determine what will be considered their individual property and what will be their marital property.
The parties use the prenuptial agreement after marriage to help them make a marital property division. In this way, the parties will make the property division process much easier and potentially save a lot of time and resources on the legal procedures.
The prenuptial agreement can be used by any party that has accumulated certain assets or liabilities before the marriage and wants to exclude them from the marital property.
Laws and Legal Requirements for a Prenuptial Agreement in Utah
The laws and legal requirements for a prenuptial agreement in Utah are all outlined in Title 30, Chapter 8 of the Utah Code, also called the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act.
The Utah Code refers to the prenuptial agreement as the premarital agreement since it is one of the states that have adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act. Section 30-8-2 defines the prenuptial agreement as “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 Utah
Section 30-8-3 of the Utah Code provides that the prenuptial agreement form must be in written form. Moreover, it provides that both future spouses must sign the prenuptial agreement.
The state law, however, doesn’t set the notarization requirement for the prenuptial agreement. Regardless, parties should consider completing this step if possible. The main benefit of having the prenuptial agreement notarized is that this step will additionally confirm the authenticity of the document and prevent potential fraudulent activities.
Prenuptial Agreement Enforcement in Utah
The court can decide to declare unenforceable certain provisions or the whole prenuptial agreement form if one of the parties proves that:
Prenuptial Agreement Enforcement Conditions
They have signed the prenuptial agreement unwillingly
The document was unconscionable at the time of its execution, and the other party didn’t provide complete or truthful information about their financial status before the agreement was signed
Moreover, the agreement can cancel or modify one party’s right to spousal support, which can make them eligible for support under a program of public assistance. If that happens, the court might require another party to support the spouse who became eligible for the program of public assistance, regardless of the provision of the prenuptial agreement form.
What Can a Prenuptial Agreement in Utah Cover?
Below, you can see the most common provisions that a Utah prenuptial agreement template can cover:
Provisions in a Prenuptial Agreement
Rights and obligations for the individual or marital property of each spouse
Right to sell, buy, lease, mortgage, or manage the marital property
Rules on how marital property will be divided in case of marriage dissolution, divorce, death, or any similar event
Matters related to spousal support or alimony
Matters connected to the insurance policy of the spouse
However, the provisions of the prenuptial agreement form cannot regulate matters related to child support since this is in the exclusive jurisdiction of the court.
Prenuptial Agreement in Utah: Validity Criteria
The prenuptial agreement form will be considered invalid if it’s not in written form. Moreover, if both spouses don’t sign the agreement, it will also be considered invalid.
The validity of the prenup agreement is also connected with the existence of marriage. This means that the prenuptial agreement will be considered invalid if the parties don’t get married after signing it.