Prenuptial Agreement - Indiana

PREMARITAL AGREEMENT

(State of Indiana)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Document Header
II. Definitions
III. Operative Provisions
IV. Representations & Warranties
V. Covenants & Restrictions
VI. Child and Third-Party Limits
VII. Enforcement Record
VIII. Dispute Resolution
IX. General Provisions
X. Execution Block
Schedule A—Party A Disclosure Statement
Schedule B—Party B Disclosure Statement
Schedule C—Property, Debt, and Maintenance Elections
Schedule D—Optional Death Provisions and Implementation Instruments

I. DOCUMENT HEADER

1. Title; Parties; Execution Date
   1.1 This Premarital Agreement (the “Agreement”) is signed on [EXECUTION DATE] (the “Execution Date”) by [PARTY A FULL LEGAL NAME], residing at [ADDRESS] (“Party A”), and [PARTY B FULL LEGAL NAME], residing at [ADDRESS] (“Party B,” and together with Party A, the “Parties,” and each a “Party”).

2. Recitals
   2.1 The Parties contemplate legal marriage to each other on or about [MARRIAGE DATE] (the “Marriage”).
   2.2 Under IC 31-11-3-5, the Parties desire to establish agreed rights and obligations in property, income, liabilities, maintenance, and identified death-related arrangements, subject to the limits stated in this Agreement and current law.
   2.3 Each Party enters into this Agreement voluntarily, free of duress, and after full and fair disclosure of the other Party’s property and financial obligations, as detailed in Schedules A and B attached hereto.
   2.4 This Agreement is in writing and is signed by both Parties. IC 31-11-3-4 makes a signed premarital agreement enforceable without consideration.

II. DEFINITIONS

For ease of reference, capitalized terms have the meanings set forth below:

“Act” means Indiana's Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, IC 31-11-3.
“Affiliate” means with respect to a Party, an entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with that Party.
“Agreement Shared Property” has the meaning assigned in Section 3.1; the label allocates rights between the Parties and does not declare Indiana a community-property state.
“Confidential Information” means all non-public personal, financial, or proprietary information disclosed by a Party.
“Disclosure Schedules” means Schedule A (Party A’s Disclosure Statement) and Schedule B (Party B’s Disclosure Statement).
“Agreement Property” means property classified by this Agreement between the Parties; a drafting label does not bind a creditor, taxing authority, retirement plan, insurer, business entity, trustee, or other third party.
“Separate Property” has the meaning assigned in Section 3.2.

III. OPERATIVE PROVISIONS

3. Classification and Ownership of Property
   3.1 Agreement Shared Property. The following property will be treated as shared between the Parties under this Agreement: [LIST ASSETS, ACCOUNTS, ACQUISITIONS, CONTRIBUTIONS, OR FORMULAS]. Joint title, survivorship, beneficiary, and transfer consequences must be confirmed in the controlling account or title instrument.
   3.2 Separate Property. Property identified for a Party in Schedule A or B, together with the traceable proceeds, replacements, income, appreciation, or agreed categories stated in Schedule C, will be that Party's separate property under this Agreement. Schedule C must state how labor, shared funds, commingling, improvements, debt reduction, and later reclassification are treated.
   3.3 Management and Control. Each Party shall have the exclusive right to manage, control, hypothecate, transfer, encumber, dispose of, or otherwise deal with his or her Separate Property without require­ment of consent from the other Party.

4. Income & Earnings
   4.1 Earnings from Separate Property shall follow the character of the underlying asset.
   4.2 Wages, salaries, and professional or business income earned during the Marriage shall be treated as stated in Schedule C. The Parties must select a treatment rather than rely on an unstated default.

5. Debts & Liabilities
   5.1 Between the Parties, responsibility for existing and future obligations is allocated in Schedules A-C.
   5.2 An allocation between the Parties does not release either Party from an obligation to a creditor or bind a creditor that is not a party. A Party who pays a documented third-party obligation allocated to the other may request reimbursement under the terms stated in Schedule C and current law.

6. Spousal Maintenance / Alimony
   6.1 Election. ☐ Rights reserved. ☐ Mutual waiver. ☐ Custom provision in Schedule C. Select one only after each Party receives separate advice about the reasonably foreseeable operation of the provision.
   6.2 Extreme Hardship Rule. Under IC 31-11-3-8(b), if a modification or elimination of maintenance causes extreme hardship under circumstances not reasonably foreseeable when the Agreement was executed, a court may require maintenance only to the extent necessary to avoid that extreme hardship. Indiana's statute does not use the model Act's public-assistance test.

7. Estate Planning & Death Benefits
   7.1 No Generic Waiver. No surviving-spouse, inheritance, retirement-plan, beneficiary, homestead, allowance, trust, or similar right is waived by this template unless Schedule D identifies the exact right, disclosure, consequence, and separate instrument after estate and benefits counsel reviews current law.
   7.2 Implementation. This Agreement does not itself change a will, trust, deed, beneficiary designation, retirement-plan election, payable-on-death registration, or insurance record. List every required implementation instrument and responsible professional in Schedule D.

8. Conditions Precedent & Subsequent
   8.1 Effectiveness. Under IC 31-11-3-6, this Agreement becomes effective only upon the Parties' marriage. If they do not marry, it does not become effective as a premarital agreement.
   8.2 Amendment. After marriage, this Agreement may be amended or revoked only by a written agreement signed by both Parties under IC 31-11-3-7; no consideration is required.

IV. REPRESENTATIONS & WARRANTIES

9. Mutual Representations
   Each Party represents, warrants, and covenants to the other, as of the Execution Date, that:
   (a) Capacity. Counsel has reviewed each Party's age, marital status, and legal capacity to sign this Agreement. Relevant facts or conditions: [DETAILS / NONE].
   (b) Voluntariness. Execution of this Agreement is voluntary and not the result of fraud, duress, or undue influence.
   (c) Legal Counsel. They have had the opportunity to consult independent legal counsel of their choice.
   (d) Full Disclosure. They have provided fair and reasonable disclosure of their property and financial obligations, as set forth in the Disclosure Schedules.
   (e) Accuracy. The financial information in the Disclosure Schedules is true, complete, and correct in all material respects.

10. Survival
    All representations and warranties shall survive execution of this Agreement and the Marriage.

The disclosure schedules, counsel record, and review timeline are evidentiary safeguards. IC 31-11-3-8's current text states voluntariness and unconscionability-at-execution defenses; it does not contain the model Act's separate three-part disclosure-waiver-knowledge test.

V. COVENANTS & RESTRICTIONS

11. Confidentiality
    Each Party shall keep Confidential Information of the other Party in strict confidence and use such information solely for purposes consistent with this Agreement, subject to legal process.

12. Further Assurances
    The Parties shall execute and deliver such additional instruments and take such actions as may be reasonably necessary to effectuate the intent of this Agreement.

13. Notice
    13.1 Any notice required under this Agreement shall be in writing and delivered by (i) certified mail, return receipt requested, (ii) nationally recognized overnight courier, or (iii) personal delivery, in each case to the receiving Party’s address stated above (or such other address as may be designated in writing).
    13.2 Notice is deemed given upon receipt or refusal. A Party’s failure to update its address shall not affect validity if notice is sent to the last address provided.

VI. CHILD AND THIRD-PARTY LIMITS

14. Child Matters
    14.1 Under IC 31-11-3-5(b), this Agreement may not adversely affect a child's right to support.
    14.2 This Agreement does not predetermine child support, parentage, custody, parenting time, relocation, or a child's best interests.

15. Third Parties
    15.1 The Parties' classifications and allocations operate between them. They do not by themselves bind creditors, taxing authorities, retirement plans, insurers, businesses, trustees, title holders, or other nonparties.
    15.2 Each deed, plan consent, beneficiary designation, trust amendment, entity approval, tax election, or other implementation instrument listed in Schedule D must be separately completed.

VII. ENFORCEMENT RECORD

16. Statutory Standards
    16.1 A Party opposing enforcement may prove that execution was not voluntary or that the Agreement was unconscionable when executed. The Court decides unconscionability as a matter of law under IC 31-11-3-8.
    16.2 If the marriage is void, IC 31-11-3-9 permits enforcement only to the extent necessary to avoid an inequitable result.
    16.3 Under IC 31-11-3-10, an otherwise applicable limitation period for a claim under this Agreement is tolled during marriage, while equitable defenses including laches and estoppel remain available.

17. Review Record
    17.1 First complete draft delivered to Party A: [DATE]. Party A counsel: [NAME].
    17.2 First complete draft delivered to Party B: [DATE]. Party B counsel: [NAME].
    17.3 Party A disclosure delivered: [DATE]. Party B disclosure delivered: [DATE].
    17.4 Each Party confirms that the final Agreement and all schedules were complete before signing, that the Party had meaningful time and opportunity for separate advice, and that no threat, concealed information, wedding deadline, or undisclosed side promise is being used to obtain a signature.

VIII. DISPUTE RESOLUTION

20. Governing Law
    The Parties select Indiana law to govern construction of this Agreement under IC 31-11-3-5(a)(7), subject to mandatory law governing a person, asset, plan, third party, or proceeding.

21. Dispute Administration
    21.1 Notice address for Agreement-related communications: [ADDRESS / METHOD].
    21.2 Optional good-faith meeting or mediation procedure that will not delay court relief or a filing deadline: [TERMS / NONE].
    21.3 Court and county, subject to jurisdiction and venue law when a proceeding is filed: [COURT / COUNTY / RESERVED].

22. No Predetermined Commercial Remedies
    No arbitration clause, jury waiver, automatic attorney-fee award, liability cap, bond waiver, cure period, force-majeure clause, or predetermined injunction is included. Any proposed dispute addendum requires separate current-law review and may not displace nonwaivable family-law issues or court authority.

IX. GENERAL PROVISIONS

25. Amendment & Waiver
    No amendment or waiver of any provision of this Agreement shall be valid unless set forth in a written instrument signed by both Parties. A waiver on one occasion shall not constitute a waiver on any subsequent occasion.

26. Assignment
    This Agreement is personal to the Parties and may not be assigned or delegated by either Party without the prior written consent of the other; provided, however, that either Party may assign rights with respect to his or her Separate Property by testamentary or inter vivos transfer.

27. Successors & Assigns
    Property-transfer and payment obligations bind estates, representatives, successors, or permitted assigns only to the extent the Agreement, an implementation instrument, and current law provide. Personal and child-related obligations are not made assignable by this clause.

28. Severability & Reformation
    If a provision is unenforceable, the Parties request enforcement of remaining provisions only to the extent the Court determines that the Agreement and remaining terms may lawfully operate. This clause does not direct the Court to rewrite a material bargain.

29. Integration
    This Agreement, including the Disclosure Schedules and any contemporaneous written amendments, constitutes the entire agreement of the Parties concerning the subject matter and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous oral or written understandings.

30. Counterparts; Electronic Signatures
    The Parties may sign counterparts if counsel confirms that the complete signed writings satisfy IC 31-11-3-4 and applicable evidentiary requirements. This template does not declare an electronic method sufficient for every asset, implementation instrument, or proceeding.

31. Headings
    Section headings are for convenience only and shall not affect interpretation.

X. EXECUTION BLOCK

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties sign this Premarital Agreement on the dates written below before the contemplated marriage.

Optional Notary Acknowledgment

IC 31-11-3-4 requires a writing signed by both Parties but does not state a notarization requirement. Use acknowledgments when counsel selects them as an evidentiary safeguard or another implementation instrument requires them.

State of Indiana )
) ss:
County of __________ )

On this _____ day of ______________, 20____, before me, the undersigned Notary Public, personally appeared [PARTY A FULL LEGAL NAME] and [PARTY B FULL LEGAL NAME], known to me (or satisfactorily proven) to be the persons whose names are subscribed to the foregoing instrument and acknowledged that they executed the same for the purposes therein contained.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I hereunto set my hand and official seal.

______________________________________
Notary Public
My Commission Expires: _______________
County of Residence: _________________

Schedule A

Party A Disclosure Statement
[Attach detailed list of assets, liabilities, income, and contingent liabilities, together with supporting documentation.]

Schedule B

Party B Disclosure Statement
[Attach detailed list of assets, liabilities, income, and contingent liabilities, together with supporting documentation.]

Schedule C

Property, Debt, Earnings, Appreciation, Reimbursement, and Maintenance Elections

Schedule D

Optional Death Provisions and Implementation Instruments

Complete only after estate, tax, benefits, title, and other relevant counsel review. Identify each right reserved, waived, or replaced; the disclosure and consequence; and every separate instrument needed.