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New Hampshire Postnuptial Agreement

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New Hampshire Postnuptial Agreement

Updated January 23, 2023

A New Hampshire postnuptial agreement is a legal document that sets out the rights and obligations of the spouses in a marriage should the marriage end in divorce or death. This is similar to a prenuptial agreement, commonly called a “prenup,” except that a married couple signs it after they’ve married instead of before. Postnuptial agreements can be valuable estate planning tools because they typically precede a state’s property distribution laws in divorce proceedings.

Signing Requirements (In re Estate of Wilber (N.H. 2013)) – Both spouses must sign. Postnuptial agreements have the same formation criteria as is found in the general law of contracts.

Laws

Scrutiny: Postnuptial agreements are presumed to be valid but scrutinized more closely than contracts unrelated to marriage. In re Estate of Wilber (N.H. 2013).

Fairness: Because of the fiduciary nature of the marital relationship, the parties in a postnuptial agreement must exercise the highest degree of good faith, candor, and sincerity, with fairness being the ultimate measure of the agreement. In re Estate of Wilber (N.H. 2013).

Enforceability: The party arguing not to enforce a postnuptial agreement must prove:

  1. The agreement was obtained through fraud, duress, mistake, misrepresentation, or nondisclosure of a material fact;
  2. The agreement is unconscionable; or
  3. The facts and circumstances have changed since the agreement was executed to make the agreement unenforceable.

In re Estate of Wilber (N.H. 2013).