2013 North Dakota Century Code Title 14 Domestic Relations and Persons Chapter 14-03.2 Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act
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CHAPTER 14-03.2
UNIFORM PREMARITAL AND MARITAL AGREEMENTS ACT
14-03.2-01. Definitions.
In this chapter:
1. "Amendment" means a modification or revocation of a premarital agreement or marital
agreement.
2. "Marital agreement" means an agreement between spouses who intend to remain
married which affirms, modifies, or waives a marital right or obligation during the
marriage or at 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.
3. "Marital dissolution" means the ending of a marriage by court decree. The term
includes a divorce, dissolution, and annulment.
4. "Marital right or obligation" means any of the following rights or obligations arising
between spouses because of their marital status:
a. Spousal support;
b. A right to property, including characterization, management, and ownership;
c. Responsibility for a liability;
d. A right to property and responsibility for liabilities at separation, marital
dissolution, or death of a spouse; or
e. Award and allocation of attorney’s fees and costs.
5. "Premarital agreement" means an agreement between individuals who intend to marry
which affirms, modifies, or waives a marital right or obligation during the marriage or at
separation, marital dissolution, death of one of the spouses, or the occurrence or
nonoccurrence of any other event. The term includes an amendment, signed before
the individuals marry, of a premarital agreement.
6. "Property" means anything that may be the subject of ownership, whether real or
personal, tangible or intangible, legal or equitable, or any interest therein.
7. "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in
an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.
8. "Sign" means with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record:
a. To execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or
b. To attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or
process.
9. "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the
United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States.
14-03.2-02. Scope.
1. This chapter applies to a premarital agreement or marital agreement signed after
July 31, 2013.
2. This chapter does not affect any right, obligation, or liability arising under a premarital
agreement or marital agreement signed before August 1, 2013.
3. This chapter does not apply to:
a. An agreement between spouses which affirms, modifies, or waives a marital right
or obligation and requires court approval to become effective; or
b. An agreement between spouses who intend to obtain a marital dissolution or
court-decreed separation which resolves their marital rights or obligations and is
signed when a proceeding for marital dissolution or court-decreed separation is
commenced.
4. This chapter does not affect adversely the rights of a bona fide purchaser for value to
the extent that this chapter applies to a waiver of a marital right or obligation in a
transfer or conveyance of property by a spouse to a third party.
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14-03.2-03. Governing law.
The validity, enforceability, interpretation, and construction of a premarital agreement or
marital agreement are determined:
1. By the law of the jurisdiction designated in the agreement if the jurisdiction has a
significant relationship to the agreement or either party and the designated law is not
contrary to a fundamental public policy of this state; or
2. Absent an effective designation described in subsection 1, by the law of this state,
including the choice-of-law rules of this state.
14-03.2-04. Principles of law and equity.
Principles of law and equity may not:
1. Supplement an agreement executed in accordance with this chapter; or
2. Be used to alter a material term in an agreement executed in accordance with this
chapter.
14-03.2-05. Formation requirements.
A premarital agreement or marital agreement must be in a record and signed by both
parties. The agreement is enforceable without consideration.
14-03.2-06. When agreement effective.
A premarital agreement is effective on marriage. A marital agreement is effective on signing
by both parties.
14-03.2-07. Void marriage.
If a marriage is determined to be void, a premarital agreement or marital agreement is
enforceable to the extent necessary to avoid an inequitable result.
14-03.2-08. Enforcement.
1. A premarital agreement or marital agreement is unenforceable if a party against whom
enforcement is sought proves:
a. The party's consent to the agreement was involuntary or the result of duress;
b. The party did not have access to independent legal representation under
subsection 2;
c. Unless the party had independent legal representation at the time the agreement
was signed, the agreement did not include a notice of waiver of rights under
subsection 3 or an explanation in plain language of the marital rights or
obligations being modified or waived by the agreement; or
d. Before signing the agreement, the party did not receive adequate financial
disclosure under subsection 4.
2. A party has access to independent legal representation if:
a. Before signing a premarital or marital agreement, the party has a reasonable time
to:
(1) Decide whether to retain a lawyer to provide independent legal
representation; and
(2) Locate a lawyer to provide independent legal representation, obtain the
lawyer's advice, and consider the advice provided; and
b. The other party is represented by a lawyer and the party has the financial ability
to retain a lawyer or the other party agrees to pay the reasonable fees and
expenses of independent legal representation.
3. A notice of waiver of rights under this section requires language, conspicuously
displayed, substantially similar to the following, as applicable to the premarital
agreement or marital agreement:
"If you sign this agreement, you may be:
Giving up your right to be supported by the person you are marrying or to whom
you are married.
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4.
5.
6.
7.
Giving up your right to ownership or control of money and property.
Agreeing to pay bills and debts of the person you are marrying or to whom you are
married.
Giving up your right to money and property if your marriage ends or the person to
whom you are married dies.
Giving up your right to have your legal fees paid."
A party has adequate financial disclosure under this section if the party:
a. Receives a reasonably accurate description and good-faith estimate of value of
the property, liabilities, and income of the other party;
b. Expressly waives, in a separate signed record, the right to financial disclosure
beyond the disclosure provided; or
c. Has adequate knowledge or a reasonable basis for having adequate knowledge
of the information described in subdivision a.
If a premarital agreement or marital agreement modifies or eliminates spousal support
and the modification or elimination causes a party to the agreement to be eligible for
support under a program of public assistance at the time of separation or marital
dissolution, a court, on request of that party, may require the other party to provide
support to the extent necessary to avoid that eligibility.
A court may refuse to enforce a term of a premarital agreement or marital agreement
if, in the context of the agreement taken as a whole:
a. The term was unconscionable at the time of signing; or
b. Enforcement of the term would result in substantial hardship for a party because
of a material change in circumstances arising after the agreement was signed.
The court shall decide a question of unconscionability or substantial hardship under
subsection 6 as a matter of law.
14-03.2-09. Unenforceable terms.
1. In this section, "parental rights and responsibilities" means all the rights and
responsibilities a parent has concerning the parent's child.
2. A term in a premarital agreement or marital agreement is not enforceable to the extent
that it:
a. Adversely affects a child's right to support;
b. Limits or restricts a remedy available to a victim of domestic violence under law of
this state other than this chapter;
c. Purports to modify the grounds for a court-decreed separation or marital
dissolution available under law of this state other than this chapter; or
d. Penalizes a party for initiating a legal proceeding leading to a court-decreed
separation or marital dissolution.
3. A term in a premarital agreement or marital agreement which defines the rights or
duties of the parties regarding parental rights and responsibilities is not binding on the
court.
14-03.2-10. Limitation of action.
A statute of limitations applicable to an action asserting a claim for relief under a premarital
agreement or marital agreement is tolled during the marriage of the parties to the agreement,
but equitable defenses limiting the time for enforcement, including laches and estoppel, are
available to either party.
14-03.2-11. Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act.
This chapter modifies, limits, and supersedes the Electronic Signatures in Global and
National Commerce Act [15 U.S.C. 7001 et seq.] but does not modify, limit, or supersede
section 101(c) of that Act [15 U.S.C. 7001(c)] or authorize electronic delivery of any of the
notices described in section 103(b) of that Act [15 U.S.C. 7003(b)].
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