PrenupsAI

ND · evidence preparation

North Dakota prenup checklist.

Use these prompts to collect the agreement, schedules, timeline, and outside records needed for an evidence-based first review.

Package nd-2026-07-22.3 · checked 2026-07-22 · editorially verified.
15issues checked
11with state records
4visible gaps
2026-07-22effective-through label

State-specific manual editorial

North Dakota's current Chapter 14-03.2 is based on the newer Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act and replaced former Chapter 14-03.1.

The current act uses a signed record and contains modern enforcement and unenforceable-term safeguards, making the agreement date and applicable chapter threshold questions.

177 authored words · 15 source-linked review modules below

Questions people actually ask

North Dakota review, without pretending the facts are settled.

Each answer is tied to source IDs in the current state package. Open the citations and check for later authority before relying on a proposition.

What format does the current North Dakota act use?

Section 14-03.2-05 uses a signed record for formation.

  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-05 · A North Dakota premarital or marital agreement must be in a record and signed by both parties and is enforceable without consideration.

Why does the former chapter matter?

The package identifies Chapter 14-03.2 as replacing former Chapter 14-03.1, so counsel should verify temporal applicability.

  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-05 · A North Dakota premarital or marital agreement must be in a record and signed by both parties and is enforceable without consideration.
  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-08(1)(a) · A North Dakota premarital or marital agreement is unenforceable if the resisting party proves consent was involuntary or the result of duress.

Where are enforcement and prohibited terms addressed?

Sections 14-03.2-08 and 14-03.2-09 supply the cited enforcement and unenforceable-term framework.

  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-01(2), (4)–(5) · North Dakota defines premarital and marital agreements by reference to rights or obligations involving support, property, liabilities, separation or death, and attorney fees and costs.
  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-08(1)(a) · A North Dakota premarital or marital agreement is unenforceable if the resisting party proves consent was involuntary or the result of duress.

Worked issue-spotting examples

How document facts become research questions.

These examples do not predict an outcome. They show the boundary between a fact pattern, a source-backed issue, and the legal judgment still required.

The agreement signed under the former chapter

A premarital agreement predates the newer Chapter 14-03.2. The package's replacement note means counsel must identify the governing statute before applying current language.

Question to carry forward: Which North Dakota chapter governs this signing date and requested enforcement?

  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-05 · A North Dakota premarital or marital agreement must be in a record and signed by both parties and is enforceable without consideration.
  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-08(1)(a) · A North Dakota premarital or marital agreement is unenforceable if the resisting party proves consent was involuntary or the result of duress.

The nonwaivable term

A draft contains a term that may conflict with a statutory protection. The newer act has a dedicated unenforceable-terms provision for clause-specific review.

Question to carry forward: Does section 14-03.2-09 prohibit or limit this exact provision?

  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-01(2), (4)–(5) · North Dakota defines premarital and marital agreements by reference to rights or obligations involving support, property, liabilities, separation or death, and attorney fees and costs.
01

Signing formalities

Confirm the complete agreement and every incorporated schedule use the required form and signatures.

  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-05 · A North Dakota premarital or marital agreement must be in a record and signed by both parties and is enforceable without consideration.
  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-08(1)(c), (3) · Unless a party had independent representation when signing, North Dakota requires a conspicuous statutory-style waiver notice or a plain-language explanation of the modified or waived marital rights and obligations.
  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-11 · North Dakota specifies how chapter 14-03.2 modifies, limits, and supersedes parts of the federal E-SIGN Act while preserving specified consumer-consent and notice provisions.
02

Acknowledgment

Check whether the agreement or a related instrument uses an acknowledgment, notarization, witness, or recording formality.

No separate source record is catalogued for this topic. That is a research-coverage statement, not a claim that no applicable law exists.

03

Effective date

Identify the event and date on which the agreement says it becomes effective.

  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-06 · A North Dakota premarital agreement is effective on marriage; a marital agreement is effective when both parties sign.
04

Permitted subjects

Map each material clause to a subject the cited authorities address and flag terms requiring separate authority.

  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-01(2), (4)–(5) · North Dakota defines premarital and marital agreements by reference to rights or obligations involving support, property, liabilities, separation or death, and attorney fees and costs.
05

Property

Reconcile property labels with title, income, appreciation, debt, and disposition terms.

No separate source record is catalogued for this topic. That is a research-coverage statement, not a claim that no applicable law exists.

06

Spousal support

Identify every support waiver, cap, formula, review event, and enforcement-time safeguard.

No separate source record is catalogued for this topic. That is a research-coverage statement, not a claim that no applicable law exists.

07

Children and support

Flag any term that attempts to predetermine child support, custody, or another child-related decision.

  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-09(2) · North Dakota makes terms unenforceable to the extent they adversely affect child support, restrict domestic-violence remedies, modify statutory dissolution grounds, or penalize initiation of dissolution proceedings.
  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-09(1), (3) · A term defining the parties' rights or duties concerning parental rights and responsibilities is not binding on a North Dakota court.
08

Amendment and revocation

Confirm every claimed amendment or revocation is complete and follows the applicable form.

  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-01(1)–(2), (5) · North Dakota treats modification or revocation as an amendment and classifies an amendment signed before marriage with premarital agreements and one signed after marriage with marital agreements.
09

Voluntariness

Build a factual timeline of drafts, negotiations, pressure, capacity, language access, and signing.

  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-08(1)(a) · A North Dakota premarital or marital agreement is unenforceable if the resisting party proves consent was involuntary or the result of duress.
10

Financial disclosure

Compare the agreement and schedules against assets, debts, income, business interests, trusts, and any waiver.

  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-08(1)(d), (4) · North Dakota defines adequate disclosure through a reasonably accurate description and good-faith value estimate, a separate signed waiver of further disclosure, or adequate knowledge or a reasonable basis for it.
11

Independent counsel

Record who advised each party, when advice occurred, and which draft was reviewed.

  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-08(1)(b), (2) · North Dakota requires access to independent legal representation, defined through reasonable time to decide, locate counsel, obtain advice, and consider it, plus financial ability or fee payment when the other party is represented.
  • Olson v. Olson, 2024 ND 224 · Olson applies chapter 14-03.2 to access to counsel, financial disclosure, voluntariness, and execution-time unconscionability and affirms the fact-specific enforceability ruling before it.
12

Timing

Measure the time between first draft, material revisions, legal review, wedding, and signing.

No separate source record is catalogued for this topic. That is a research-coverage statement, not a claim that no applicable law exists.

13

Public assistance

Identify support terms that could interact with public-benefit eligibility at enforcement.

  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-08(5) · If a support modification or elimination causes public-assistance eligibility at separation or dissolution, a court may order support to the extent necessary to avoid that eligibility.
14

Void marriage

Identify whether the agreement addresses a marriage later determined to be void.

  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-07 · If a marriage is void, a premarital or marital agreement is enforceable to the extent necessary to avoid an inequitable result.
15

Other limitations

Identify severability, limitations, public-policy, choice-of-law, and other enforcement boundaries.

  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-02 · Chapter 14-03.2 applies to premarital and marital agreements signed after July 31, 2013, preserves earlier rights and liabilities, and excludes specified court-approved and dissolution-proceeding agreements.
  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-03 · North Dakota generally follows a designated jurisdiction's law when it has a significant relationship and is not contrary to North Dakota fundamental public policy; otherwise North Dakota law, including its conflicts rules, applies.
  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-04 · For an agreement executed under the chapter, North Dakota bars principles of law and equity from supplementing the agreement or altering a material term.
  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-08(6)–(7) · A North Dakota court may refuse a term that was unconscionable when signed or whose enforcement would cause substantial hardship from a later material change; the court decides those questions as matters of law.
  • N.D.C.C. § 14-03.2-10 · A limitations period for relief under a premarital or marital agreement is tolled during marriage, while equitable defenses including laches and estoppel remain available.
  • 2013 N.D. Sess. Laws chs. 15, 121 (H.B. 1015, H.B. 1128) · House Bill 1128 enacted chapter 14-03.2, repealed former chapter 14-03.1, and was contemporaneously affected by House Bill 1015; current codified text must be used rather than an intermediate bill version.

Matrix and list placement describes the records in PrenupsAI's current evidence packages. It does not rank legal strictness, predict enforceability, or mean that an unlisted state has no applicable rule. Open the cited sources to inspect the underlying authority.

Method, not a verdict

How to turn fifteen prompts into a defensible review file.

331 words of shared evidence methodology accompany the state-specific editorial and authority records above.

Use the checklist as an evidence map

Work from the complete agreement outward. Preserve the best available signed copy, every incorporated schedule, and any amendment or revocation before answering individual questions. For each checklist row, distinguish three things: what the document says, what an outside record can prove, and what the cited authority addresses. Those categories overlap, but they are not interchangeable. A recital may identify the parties’ stated understanding without proving delivery; a bank statement may prove an account existed without deciding its legal classification; a statute may identify a standard without resolving disputed facts.

Mark an item complete only when the underlying record is identified, not merely because the agreement contains reassuring language. If a source is absent, record the gap and route it for research. Do not convert ‘not separately catalogued’ into ‘no law exists.’ That discipline is what makes the checklist useful across both dense statutory packages and states whose rules depend more heavily on cases or adjacent bodies of law.

Keep a source-and-version trail

Record the package version and effective-through date shown above, the date each authority was opened, and whether a later-authority search was performed. Save exact clause quotes with page or section references. When facts change—through relocation, marriage, amendment, property transfer, separation, death, or litigation—create a new review snapshot rather than overwriting the old one. The resulting trail lets another reviewer understand which document, facts, and legal source set supported each observation.

A checklist can identify missing evidence and research questions; it cannot certify validity, predict enforcement, select governing law, or replace a time-sensitive professional judgment. Use narrow language such as ‘the reviewed file does not contain the referenced schedule’ instead of ‘no disclosure occurred.’ That difference is not defensive filler. It is the basic quality control that keeps evidence reporting accurate.

End each review with a dated list of unresolved facts, assigned follow-up work, and the authority that made each question material. A visible open item is safer than an unsupported green check.