Prenuptial Agreement Requirements in California

At a glance

Requirements one by one

California uses its Uniform Premarital Agreement Act

Section 1600 names the chapter the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act. The California version combines the uniform-act structure with state-specific counsel, timing, and spousal-support protections in §§ 1612 and 1615.

The agreement is between prospective spouses, is made in contemplation of marriage, and is designed to become effective when they marry. It is not the same instrument as an agreement first made after marriage.

Writing, signatures, and marriage activate the agreement

Section 1611 states the basic form in one sentence: the agreement “shall be in writing and signed by both parties.” No additional consideration is required. Under § 1613, signing does not itself activate the agreement; it becomes effective upon marriage.

Basic validity does not require a notary or witnesses

The basic execution rule in § 1611 requires a writing and both signatures. It does not add a notary, acknowledgment, or witness requirement.

Real-property notice is a separate issue. Under § 1502, an agreement affecting real property may be recorded in each county where the property is located if the agreement is executed and acknowledged or proved in the manner required for a real-property grant. Recording or not recording then has the same effect as for a real-property grant; that is not an extra formality for basic validity between the parties.

Disclosure has a three-part statutory structure

Section 1615(a)(2) does not make every imperfect disclosure an automatic loss. The party resisting enforcement on this route must prove the agreement was unconscionable when signed and that all three listed conditions applied: no fair, reasonable, and full disclosure; no voluntary express written waiver of further disclosure; and no actual or reasonably available adequate knowledge of the other party's property or financial obligations.

The disclosure waiver must be express, voluntary, and in writing. The statute does not say that this particular waiver must be a separate writing. That differs from the independent-counsel waiver below.

California has two distinct seven-day protections

For current agreements, § 1615(c) treats an agreement as involuntary unless the court makes the required findings. First, a party must have independent counsel at signing or, after being advised to seek counsel, waive counsel expressly in a separate writing. The advisement itself must occur at least seven calendar days before the final agreement is signed.

Second, regardless of whether counsel represents the party, at least seven calendar days must pass between first presentation of the final agreement and signing. A nonsubstantive amendment that does not change the terms is excepted from that final-agreement clock.

An unrepresented party also must receive a written explanation of the terms, basic effect, and relinquished rights before signing, must be proficient in the language used, and must sign a declaration identifying who supplied that information. The agreement and related writings must be free from duress, fraud, and undue influence, and the parties must have capacity.

The statute supplies the fairness test

Under § 1615(a), the first route to nonenforcement is lack of voluntary execution. The second is the combined execution-time test described above: unconscionability when signed plus all three disclosure failures. The court decides unconscionability as a matter of law.

California's act does not state a general changed-circumstances “second look” for every property term. It does separately test a spousal-support provision for unconscionability when enforcement is sought.

Spousal-support terms need more than a general counsel waiver

Section 1612(c) permits a support provision, including a waiver, only within two limits. It is not enforceable against a party who lacked independent counsel when the agreement containing it was signed, and it is not enforceable if unconscionable at the time of enforcement.

Counsel does not cure every defect: the statute expressly says an otherwise unenforceable support provision does not become enforceable solely because the opposing party had independent counsel.

Child and public-policy matters remain outside private control

Section 1612(b) says a prenup may not adversely affect a child's right to support. Custody and visitation are likewise not conclusively fixed by the agreement: § 3011(a)(1) and § 3020(a) place those decisions with the court under the child's best interests, health, safety, and welfare.

Other personal-rights terms are permitted only if they do not violate public policy or a statute imposing a criminal penalty under § 1612(a)(7).

Changes after marriage require another signed writing

Under § 1614, amendment or revocation after marriage is possible only through a written agreement signed by both parties. The amendment or revocation needs no consideration.

What trips people up

• Very old agreements use a different legal baseline. Cal. Fam. Code § 1503 leaves agreements made before January 1, 1986, to the law that applied before that date.
• Marriage tolls a limitations period, but not every timing defense. Under § 1617, an applicable limitations period is tolled during the marriage, while equitable defenses such as laches and estoppel remain available.

Common questions

Can a minor make a California prenup?

Section 1501 permits it only if the minor is emancipated, otherwise capable of contracting marriage under the cited marriage statutes, or has entered or is entering a marriage valid where solemnized.

Can the agreement address death and estate-planning arrangements?

Yes. Section 1612(a) permits terms addressing property disposition at death, a will or trust used to carry out the agreement, and ownership or disposition of a life-insurance death benefit.

What if the marriage is later determined to be void?

Cal. Fam. Code § 1616 limits an agreement that otherwise would have been a premarital agreement to enforcement necessary to avoid an inequitable result.

Statutes and sources

• Cal. Fam. Code § 1600 — statutory name of the act. Official California Code (accessed 2026-07-27).
• Cal. Fam. Code §§ 1611 and 1613 — writing, signatures, no consideration, and effectiveness upon marriage. Official § 1611; official § 1613 (accessed 2026-07-27).
• Cal. Fam. Code § 1502 — optional recordation for agreements affecting real property. Official California Code (accessed 2026-07-27).
• Cal. Fam. Code § 1615(a)-(c) — voluntariness, disclosure, unconscionability, counsel, timing, written explanation, and capacity. Official California Code (accessed 2026-07-27).
• Cal. Fam. Code § 1612(a)-(c) — permitted terms, public-policy limit, child support, and spousal support. Official California Code (accessed 2026-07-27).
• Cal. Fam. Code §§ 3011 and 3020 — court-determined child best interests, custody, and visitation policy. Official § 3011; official § 3020 (accessed 2026-07-27).
• Cal. Fam. Code § 1614 — signed-writing amendment or revocation after marriage. Official California Code (accessed 2026-07-27).
• Cal. Fam. Code §§ 1501, 1503, 1616, and 1617 — minors, pre-1986 agreements, void marriages, limitations tolling, and equitable defenses. Official § 1501; official § 1503; official § 1616; official § 1617 (accessed 2026-07-27).