Prenuptial Agreement - Michigan

PREMARITAL AGREEMENT — MICHIGAN

1. PARTIES, PURPOSE, AND EFFECTIVE DATE

This Premarital Agreement ("Agreement") is made on [__/__/____] by:

Party A: [FULL LEGAL NAME], of [ADDRESS] ("Party A")

Party B: [FULL LEGAL NAME], of [ADDRESS] ("Party B")

The parties state and agree:

1. They intend to marry on or about [__/__/____].
2. They wish to define certain rights and responsibilities concerning property, income, debts, support, and succession.
3. Each has provided the other with the financial disclosure identified in Section 3 and the attached schedules.
4. Each has had adequate time to review the Agreement and the opportunity to consult separate counsel.
5. The parties intend this Agreement to become effective only upon their legal marriage to each other.
6. The parties do not intend any provision to limit a Michigan court's nonwaivable authority, bind a child, impair a creditor's rights, or override controlling federal law or a governing benefit-plan document.

2. MICHIGAN ENFORCEMENT FRAMEWORK

MCL 557.28 provides that a contract relating to property made by persons in contemplation of marriage remains in force after marriage. Michigan decisions recognize premarital agreements but permit a challenge based on fraud, duress, mistake, misrepresentation or nondisclosure of a material fact, unconscionability when executed, or sufficiently changed facts and circumstances making enforcement unfair and unreasonable. The party challenging an agreement generally bears the burden of proof.

The parties further acknowledge Allard v. Allard (On Remand): they cannot use this Agreement to deprive a Michigan circuit court of the equitable authority granted by MCL 552.23(1) and MCL 552.401. Any property or support term below is expressly subject to that retained judicial authority.

3. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

3.1 Attached Schedules

The following signed schedules are incorporated into this Agreement:

• Schedule A: Party A's assets, current values, income, expected interests, and liabilities.
• Schedule B: Party B's assets, current values, income, expected interests, and liabilities.
• Schedule C: Jointly owned property and joint liabilities existing before marriage.
• Schedule D: Any separately negotiated support, business, insurance, or succession terms.

3.2 Disclosure Standard

Each party represents that the party's schedules identify, with reasonable supporting information:

• real estate and estimated equity;
• bank, brokerage, digital-asset, and other financial accounts;
• retirement and deferred-compensation interests;
• businesses, professional practices, partnerships, and closely held interests;
• trusts, inheritances, expectancies known to the party, and valuable personal property;
• recurring income and material contingent compensation;
• mortgages, taxes, guarantees, judgments, support duties, and other material liabilities; and
• the valuation date and valuation method for each material asset.

Each party acknowledges receipt of the other party's schedules on [__/__/____]. Any material update before marriage must be disclosed in a dated writing and attached to the applicable schedule.

3.3 Disclosure Elections

Party A: ☐ Satisfied with disclosure ☐ Requests the following additional information: [________________________________]

Party B: ☐ Satisfied with disclosure ☐ Requests the following additional information: [________________________________]

No statement of satisfaction excuses intentional concealment, fraud, misrepresentation, or nondisclosure of a material fact.

4. DEFINITIONS

Marriage means the legal marriage of Party A and Party B.

Dissolution Proceeding means a Michigan or other lawful proceeding for divorce, separate maintenance, or annulment.

Separate Property means property classified as separate under Section 5, together with any property that applicable law or a controlling third-party instrument requires to remain separate.

Marital Property means property classified as marital under Section 6, subject to a court's authority and the facts concerning title, tracing, commingling, use, contribution, and the parties' course of conduct.

Appreciation includes passive market growth, retained earnings, distributions, rents, royalties, interest, dividends, and other increases in value, as specifically elected below.

5. SEPARATE PROPERTY

5.1 Property Owned Before Marriage

Property listed on Schedule A remains Party A's Separate Property. Property listed on Schedule B remains Party B's Separate Property, except as otherwise expressly stated in this Agreement or a later signed instrument.

5.2 Proceeds and Substitutions

The identifiable proceeds of Separate Property and property acquired solely in exchange for traceable Separate Property remain Separate Property unless the owning party makes a signed written transfer or the parties' conduct causes a different legal result.

5.3 Appreciation Election

For each material Separate Property item, the applicable schedule must select one treatment:

• ☐ Passive Appreciation remains Separate Property.
• ☐ All Appreciation remains Separate Property, subject to MCL 552.401 and other controlling law.
• ☐ Appreciation during Marriage is Marital Property.
• ☐ Custom treatment: [________________________________].

The parties understand that labor, management, marital funds, and other contributions can create claims or invoke judicial authority that a label alone may not defeat.

5.4 Earnings During Marriage

Select one route and complete any custom allocation:

• ☐ Each party's employment and self-employment earnings remain that party's Separate Property unless deposited into a joint account or jointly titled.
• ☐ All earnings during Marriage are Marital Property.
• ☐ The first $[____________] of each party's annual earnings is Marital Property; the balance is Separate Property.
• ☐ Custom treatment: [________________________________].

5.5 Gifts and Inheritances

Property received individually by gift, devise, or inheritance remains the recipient's Separate Property unless transferred, commingled, or treated in a manner producing a different result under applicable law.

5.6 Businesses and Professional Practices

For each business listed on Schedule A or B, the schedule must address ownership, voting rights, compensation, distributions, retained earnings, appreciation, goodwill, capital contributions, guarantees, and any marital labor. This Agreement does not bind a business entity, co-owner, creditor, or governing agreement that is not a party to it.

6. MARITAL AND JOINT PROPERTY

6.1 Expressly Marital Property

The following is Marital Property:

• property listed on Schedule C as jointly owned;
• property intentionally titled in both parties' names after marriage, subject to any signed contrary designation;
• funds deposited into an account expressly designated by the parties as a marital account; and
• property identified here: [________________________________].

6.2 Joint Residence

The parties intend to treat a residence acquired or used during Marriage as follows:

• ☐ Marital Property regardless of unequal contributions.
• ☐ Ownership follows record title, subject to documented contribution credits.
• ☐ Ownership follows the percentages in a separate signed purchase agreement.
• ☐ Custom treatment: [________________________________].

Address or anticipated property: [________________________________]

6.3 Commingling and Records

Each party who seeks Separate Property treatment should maintain records sufficient to identify and trace the property. Joint title, joint accounts, use of marital funds, or a sustained course of treating an asset as shared may affect classification despite a label in this Agreement.

7. DEBTS AND EXPENSES

7.1 Premarital Debts

Each party remains responsible for the debts listed on that party's schedule unless the other party later assumes a debt in a signed writing or applicable law provides otherwise.

7.2 Debts During Marriage

A debt incurred in one party's name remains that party's responsibility between the parties unless it was expressly incurred for a joint purpose and designated as joint in writing. This allocation does not limit a creditor that is not a party to the Agreement.

7.3 Household Expenses

The parties will contribute to household expenses as follows:

• ☐ Equally.
• ☐ In proportion to gross income.
• ☐ Party A: [____]% and Party B: [____]%.
• ☐ Custom method: [________________________________].

Payment of household expenses does not by itself transfer ownership of Separate Property unless the parties sign a transfer or applicable law requires a different result.

8. DISSOLUTION TERMS

8.1 Property Division

In a Dissolution Proceeding, the parties request that a court:

1. confirm each party's Separate Property as defined by this Agreement;
2. divide Marital Property according to the elections and percentages stated here: [________________________________]; and
3. apply MCL 552.23(1), MCL 552.401, and other controlling law where judicial authority cannot be waived or the facts require it.

Nothing in this Agreement compels a court to order an inequitable property settlement or prevents the court from considering statutory support, maintenance, contribution, and child-related interests.

8.2 Spousal Support Election

The parties select one route:

• ☐ Reserved: Each party retains all arguments concerning spousal support.
• ☐ Mutual Waiver: Each party requests no spousal support from the other, subject to MCL 552.23(1), Allard, and other nonwaivable judicial authority.
• ☐ Defined Support: [PAYOR] will pay [RECIPIENT] $[____________] per [month/year] for [____________], subject to judicial review and the following conditions: [________________________________].
• ☐ Custom: [________________________________].

The parties acknowledge that a private waiver cannot eliminate the circuit court's statutory equitable authority.

8.3 Attorney Fees and Litigation Expenses

Each party reserves all rights and arguments concerning attorney fees and litigation expenses under applicable statute, court rule, contract law, and the facts of a later proceeding. This Agreement creates no automatic prevailing-party fee award unless a separately reviewed provision states one here: [________________________________].

8.4 Child-Related Matters

No term of this Agreement fixes or waives child custody, parenting time, child support, medical support, education expenses, or any child's rights. Those matters remain subject to controlling law and the court's independent authority.

9. DEATH AND SUCCESSION ELECTIONS

9.1 MCL 700.2205 Disclosure Acknowledgment

The parties acknowledge that MCL 700.2205 permits a prospective spouse, after fair disclosure, to waive wholly or partly specified surviving-spouse rights by a signed written contract, agreement, or waiver.

9.2 Party A's Election Concerning Party B's Estate

Party A selects one:

• ☐ Retains all surviving-spouse rights.
• ☐ Waives only the following rights after fair disclosure: [________________________________].
• ☐ Waives, to the extent stated in MCL 700.2205, rights to intestate succession, homestead allowance, election, exempt property, and family allowance in Party B's estate.

9.3 Party B's Election Concerning Party A's Estate

Party B selects one:

• ☐ Retains all surviving-spouse rights.
• ☐ Waives only the following rights after fair disclosure: [________________________________].
• ☐ Waives, to the extent stated in MCL 700.2205, rights to intestate succession, homestead allowance, election, exempt property, and family allowance in Party A's estate.

9.4 Beneficiary Designations and Estate Documents

This Agreement does not itself change a will, trust, transfer-on-death designation, insurance beneficiary designation, retirement-plan election, or other third-party record. Each party must complete any separate document required by the governing instrument and applicable law.

10. RETIREMENT AND EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Ownership between the parties is selected as follows:

• ☐ Each party retains that party's retirement and employee-benefit interests as Separate Property.
• ☐ Contributions and service during Marriage are Marital Property; premarital portions remain Separate Property.
• ☐ Custom treatment: [________________________________].

This section is an agreement between the parties only. It does not substitute for any plan-required consent, beneficiary form, domestic-relations order, or post-marriage action required by controlling federal or state law.

11. REPRESENTATIONS AND VOLUNTARY EXECUTION

Each party represents as of signing:

1. The party has read the complete Agreement and schedules.
2. The party understands the Agreement affects substantial property, support, and succession interests.
3. The party signs voluntarily and without fraud, duress, unlawful coercion, mistake, or material misrepresentation.
4. The party has not concealed a material asset, liability, income source, or expected interest.
5. The party believes the Agreement was not unconscionable when executed.
6. The party has considered reasonably foreseeable changes, including illness, disability, career interruption, childcare, relocation, business growth or failure, inheritance, and a substantial change in either party's finances.
7. The party has had the opportunity to obtain valuation, tax, estate-planning, and benefit-plan advice.
8. No lawyer representing one party has represented the other party unless a separate written conflict-compliant arrangement expressly says otherwise.

12. COUNSEL AND REVIEW TIMELINE

13. GENERAL TERMS

13.1 Governing Law

Michigan law governs this Agreement, except where controlling federal law, another jurisdiction's mandatory law, or a governing third-party instrument applies.

13.2 Appropriate Forum

Any dispute may be presented to a court with subject-matter jurisdiction and proper venue. This Agreement does not predetermine venue or limit a court's statutory authority.

13.3 Amendment or Revocation

The parties may amend or revoke this Agreement only through a later writing signed by both parties. Counsel must determine whether the later transaction is governed by rules applicable to postnuptial agreements, estate waivers, benefit-plan consents, property transfers, or other instruments.

13.4 Severability

If a provision is unenforceable, the court may enforce the remaining provisions to the extent permitted by law and consistent with the parties' lawful intent. No severability or reformation clause authorizes a court to surrender authority that Michigan law preserves.

13.5 Entire Agreement

This Agreement and its signed schedules contain the parties' complete premarital agreement on the subjects addressed. A schedule-specific election controls over inconsistent general language.

13.6 No Third-Party Impairment

This Agreement does not impair the rights of a child, creditor, taxing authority, benefit plan, business entity, co-owner, trustee, or other nonparty.

13.7 Counterparts and Final Copy

The parties may sign counterparts that together form one Agreement. Each party must receive a complete copy containing all signatures and final schedules.

14. SIGNATURES

By signing, each party confirms the representations in Sections 11 and 12 and the elections marked throughout the Agreement.

Party A

Signature: ____________________________________

Printed Name: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

Party B

Signature: ____________________________________

Printed Name: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

15. SEPARATE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Party A Acknowledgment

State of Michigan

County of [________________________________]

Acknowledged before me on [__/__/____] by [PARTY A FULL LEGAL NAME].

Notary Signature: ____________________________________

Notary Public, State of Michigan, County of: [________________________________]

My commission expires: [__/__/____]

Acting in the County of: [________________________________]

Party B Acknowledgment

State of Michigan

County of [________________________________]

Acknowledged before me on [__/__/____] by [PARTY B FULL LEGAL NAME].

Notary Signature: ____________________________________

Notary Public, State of Michigan, County of: [________________________________]

My commission expires: [__/__/____]

Acting in the County of: [________________________________]

16. SCHEDULE CHECKLIST

• ☐ Schedule A — Party A Financial Disclosure, signed and dated
• ☐ Schedule B — Party B Financial Disclosure, signed and dated
• ☐ Schedule C — Joint Property and Joint Liabilities
• ☐ Schedule D — Custom Support, Business, Insurance, or Succession Terms
• ☐ Current account statements or valuation support
• ☐ Business ownership and governing documents
• ☐ Retirement and benefit-plan summaries
• ☐ Real-estate title and debt information
• ☐ Material updates made before marriage
• ☐ Counsel certificates, if used

17. OFFICIAL SOURCES

• MCL 557.28: https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/mcl-557-28.pdf
• MCL 552.23: https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/mcl-552-23.pdf
• MCL 552.401: https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/mcl-552-401.pdf
• MCL 700.2205: https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/mcl-700-2205.pdf
• Allard v. Allard (On Remand), 318 Mich. App. 583, 899 N.W.2d 420 (2017): https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/case-documents/uploads/opinions/final/coa/20170131_c308194(99)_rptr_9o-308194-final-i.pdf
• Silverman v. Silverman, unpublished per curiam opinion, No. 336905 (Mich. Ct. App. Aug. 9, 2018), quoting and applying the Reed enforceability framework: https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/case-documents/uploads/OPINIONS/FINAL/COA/20180809_C336905_66_336905.OPN.PDF
• Broedell v. Broedell, unpublished per curiam opinion, No. 359737 (Mich. Ct. App. Feb. 21, 2023), applying MCL 552.23, MCL 552.401, and Allard: https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/case-documents/uploads/OPINIONS/FINAL/COA/20230221_C359737_47_359737.OPN.PDF

This template is provided by ezel.ai for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Michigan counsel must tailor the classifications, disclosures, support terms, succession elections, and execution process to the parties' circumstances.