Prenuptial Agreements in Virginia: When Are They Enforceable and How Can We Separate or Join Properties?

婚前协议在弗吉尼亚有效和可执行吗?

简短的回答是:是的，在结婚之后.

认识到婚前协议的价值是很重要的.  A Prenup is often perceived as an instrument that facilitates or encourages divorce. The true intention of a Prenuptial Agreement is to minimize conflict during the marriage and to avoid litigation and intrusion into their lives due to the unexpected event of divorce or death.

这份未婚夫之间的合同与其他合同没有区别. A Prenuptial Agreement is a contract between fiancés that may establish boundaries of separate and marital properties upon marriage and may incorporate property settlement and separation agreement terms that would take effect upon marital separation and/or divorce. Specifically, 根据弗吉尼亚婚前协议法案, the Prenuptial Agreement’s terms on the spousal support and the disposition of property upon separation, 婚姻解体, 或者死亡会控制你, 发生此类事件时可强制执行的条款.

One way a Prenuptial Agreement is most often utilized is to continue to keep each party’s pre-marital separate property as a separate property. Therefore, the property that would have otherwise become a marital property and subjected to equitable distribution by court would not be subjected to a split. Section (I) further defines separate property and how a Premarital Agreement may set clear direction on how a married couple can separate or join their properties. Section (II) discusses requirements of an enforceable Prenuptial Agreement 根据弗吉尼亚婚前协议法案.

I. Separate Property

在离婚诉讼中, 法院可以将财产归为夫妻财产, separate, 或者混合(部分婚姻部分分开). Separate property belongs to the owning party and the other party is not entitled to such property. However, separate property is not limited to the properties acquired before the marriage. 而婚姻期间取得的财产推定为夫妻财产, 在婚姻中，有很多方法可以让配偶建立独立的财产. For example, 遗赠的财产, devise, descent, survivorship, or gift from someone other than the other spouse can be considered separate property. Also, 如果一方在婚姻期间出售各自的财产, the sales proceeds will be considered separate property as long as the fund is maintained as separate property. 

To this effect, a Prenuptial Agreement can specify how and which property will be kept separate and when a property will become a marital property. The Agreement can also specify how and when a marital property is jointly created. 在离婚诉讼中, the Prenup pre-designation terms could prevent high litigation costs of fighting over separate and marital properties.

II. 制定可执行婚前协议的要求

There are legal requirements to make this beneficial Agreement enforceable under Virginia Code § 20-151.

First, a Prenuptial Agreement cannot be enforced if there is clear and convincing evidence that the agreement was 非自愿执行. Second，婚前协议无效，如果协议是 unconscionable 在签署本协议时， and 没有向对方提供 公平合理的披露 of the property and financial obligations of the other party when the counter-party did not agree in advance in writing to voluntarily and expressly waiving his or her right to be notified of the other party’s assets and debts.

A Prenuptial Agreement will not fail this test just because a party failed to list all assets and debts existing at the time of the contract. So, what is the extent of the assets and debts necessary to meet the “公平合理的披露” requirement? 什么时候协议被认为是“不合理的”??

A.  公平合理地披露资产和债务

The courts will review the circumstances to assess whether there was a 公平合理的披露. For example, in Chapin v. Chapin, the Virginia Court of Appeals held in 2017 that the husband did not make a 公平合理的披露 when he had disclosed about $1,800,000.并隐瞒了50多万美元.00美元的负债. As a result, the husband’s debt ended up reducing his property and asset values by nearly a third, 影响妻子的权利. So, the court refused to enforce the party’s Prenuptial Agreement terms in their divorce proceeding. In Chaplain v. Chaplain, the same court held that there was no 公平合理的披露 in the Agreement when a party failed to disclose his net worth of approximately $20 million dollars.

B.  协议是合理的

Generally, deception, trickery, bad faith or oppressive behavior are factors that a court reviews to find whether an Agreement was conscionable or not. It is not a trickery just because a fiancé said to the other that “I will marry you only if you sign a premarital agreement.” In Galloway v. Galloway, the Court of Appeals of Virginia ruled that the Agreement was conscionable even when a party has received the Agreement a night before, 因为对方告知她有权聘请律师, 她在没有强迫的情况下自愿签署了协议.

If an agreement is conscionable and enforceable, the court will not modify the terms of the contract.

C.  协议是不合理的

与此同时，一个法庭被搁置 Odom v. Odom (Loudoun County, 2003) that a prenuptial agreement was unconscionable and thus not enforceable. 在这种情况下，妻子最近来过美国.S. 不会说英语, the husband’s Russian translator did not translate the agreement word for word for the wife, the wife did not know that the agreement contained the 10-year spousal support waiver, 没有收入或没有收入的前景, 没有资产.

一份简单的婚前协议可以节省大量的时间, money, 以及夫妻在婚姻中的能量, 以及在婚姻破裂的意外事件中. It is important to seek legal advice to craft an agreement that is unique to your needs and circumstances.

Ra Hee Jeon is a Pender & 科沃德律师专注于家庭法和移民事务.