Premarital Agreements

Under the Iowa Code, they are call premarital agreement. They have also been known by other names, such as prenuptial agreements, antenuptial agreements, or simply prenups. But whatever name is used, the agreement is a document that has many more uses than most people realize, and has very specific requirements.


Iowa Code chapter 596 contains the statutes in Iowa used for establishing and enforcing premarital agreements. First, premarital agreements are enforceable only upon marriage; if a couple executed a prenup but did not actually get married, the agreement is not enforceable. Iowa Code 596.1. Further, the contract must be in writing and signed by both prospective spouses. Iowa Code 596.4. This agreement will also bind both spouses to execute any documents necessary to effectuate the contract. Id. So, if the contract requires sale of a piece of property, both parties will have to sign the selling document or face potential legal action.


Most people view premarital agreements simply a vehicle to make a divorce simpler, but the value of such a contract is much higher. As most people expect, the contract can provide the rights and obligations between the spouses to property, regardless of how it is acquired or where it is located. Iowa Code 596.5. It can further outline the parties' rights to buy, sell, use, transfer, exchange, abandon, lease, consume, expend, assign, create a security interest, mortgage, encumber, dispose, manage, or otherwise control property. Id. While the contract can outline how property is disposed upon separation or divorce, it can also outline how property is disposed upon death or any other triggering event. Id. Therefore, this can be used as an estate planning tool as well. 


The contract can select what state's law applies, ownership and disposal of life insurance benefits, and any other matter that is not against Iowa public policy or criminal law. Id. However, a prenuptial agreement cannot adversely effect the rights to spousal or child support. Id. 


A premarital agreement becomes effective on the date of marriage. Iowa Code 596.6. After the marriage, the contract can be revoked, but in a limited amount of ways. The first, and easiest, is by written agreement signed by both spouses. Iowa Code 596.7. If one party wants out of the contract without consent, that party must prove one of three situations. The first is that the execution of the contract was not voluntary. The second is that the contract was unconscionable at the time it was executed (meaning, in a nutshell, unreasonably favorable to one party while precluding meaningful choice for the other party). Finally, if the spouse can prove that, before the contract was executed, the spouse was not provided a fair and reasonable disclosure of the property and financial obligations of other spouse, and did not have or could not get adequate knowledge of these circumstances. Id. If only one provision of the contract is found to be unenforceable, the other provisions that are not affected will still be enforceable. Iowa Code 596.8.


Without getting into too much detail here, the above laws only apply for contracts entered into after 1991. If your contract is from before 1992, different rules apply. In general as well, these agreements, including necessity, contents, and enforceability, will depend on the facts. Contact an attorney with additional questions.