Maine: Prenuptial Agreement Requirements

Requirements one by one

Maine uses the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act

Title 19-A, §§ 601-603 identify chapter 21 as the Uniform Premarital Agreement
Act, define the agreement as one made by prospective spouses in contemplation
of marriage, and supply the signed-writing rule.

Maine keeps the original UPAA's conjunctive enforcement structure. Voluntary
execution stands alone, but unconscionability must be combined with every
listed disclosure failure before § 608(1)(B) defeats enforcement.

The agreement needs a writing and both signatures

Section 603 says the agreement “must be in writing and signed by both parties.”
It is enforceable without consideration, so no separate payment or property
exchange is required.

Under § 605, the agreement becomes effective upon marriage. Signing satisfies
the form but does not activate the agreement if the contemplated marriage never
occurs.

Disclosure has three statutory alternatives

The § 608(1)(B) defense succeeds only when the challenger proves execution-time
unconscionability and all three disclosure failures: no fair and reasonable
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 waiver must be express, voluntary, and in writing. The statute does not say
that it must be a separate document.

Maine's unconscionability test is tied to disclosure

Section 608 creates two routes to agreement-wide nonenforcement. The first is
involuntary execution. The second is unconscionability when the agreement was
executed together with all three disclosure failures.

Unconscionability is for the court to decide as a matter of law. Section 608
does not state a general enforcement-time unconscionability review for every
term, although § 604's public-policy limit can independently bar a particular
term.

Support terms have a public-assistance floor

Under § 604(4), parties may modify or eliminate spousal support. Section 608(2)
supplies a targeted override: if the term causes public-assistance
eligibility at separation or dissolution, the court may require enough support
to avoid that eligibility.

That rule addresses the named public-assistance consequence. It is not a
general statutory rewrite of every support bargain at enforcement.

Child-related terms remain under court control

Section 604 says a prenup may not adversely affect a child's support right and
permits other personal terms only when they do not violate public policy or
criminal law. Under § 1653(3), the court must decide parental rights and
responsibilities under the child's best-interest standard.

In Riemann v. Toland, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court held that a prenup term
that may hinder the court's ability to assess and address a child's best
interests is void. It therefore refused to enforce an attorney-fee waiver in
the parties' parental-rights litigation.

Post-marriage changes require a signed writing

After marriage, §§ 605-607 provide the effect and change rules. Section 607
permits amendment or revocation only through a written
agreement signed by both parties. The change or revocation is enforceable
without consideration.

Chapter 21 does not add a notary, witness, or payment requirement to that
change agreement.

What trips people up

• Maine's disclosure test is conjunctive. Unconscionability under
  § 608(1)(B) must be paired with all three disclosure failures.
• Section 608 is not the only limit on a particular term. Riemann applies
  § 604(8)'s public-policy rule independently when child-related litigation is
  at stake.
• The old 18-month parenthood rule is transitional. Section 606 says it
  does not apply to agreements executed on or after October 1, 1993.

Common questions

Does a Maine prenup need notarization or witnesses?

No such formality appears in chapter 21. Section 603 states the basic form as a
writing signed by both parties.

Is independent counsel mandatory?

Chapter 21 does not impose a separate-counsel mandate, counsel waiver, fixed
review period, or pre-wedding countdown. Section 608 still requires voluntary
execution independently of its unconscionability-and-disclosure route.

Can the parties waive further financial disclosure?

Yes. Section 608 recognizes a voluntary express written waiver of further
disclosure. Fair and reasonable disclosure or adequate financial knowledge can
also defeat the disclosure-based challenge.

Statutes and sources

• 19-A M.R.S. §§ 601-611. Current Maine Uniform Premarital Agreement Act.
  Official Maine Revisor chapter PDF
  (accessed July 28, 2026).
• 19-A M.R.S. § 1653. Current parental-rights best-interest rule. Official
  Maine Revised Statutes
  (accessed July 28, 2026).
• Riemann v. Toland, 2022 ME 13. Public-policy limit for a
  prenup term affecting child-related litigation. Official Maine Supreme
  Judicial Court opinion
  (accessed July 28, 2026).