Prenuptial Agreement Requirements in Maine

At a glance

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).