North Carolina Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, N.C. Gen. Stat. ch. 52B, with exact sections current through S.L. 2026-7, the July 1, 1987 applicability line, and qualified published Court of Appeals decisions.
The party resisting enforcement may prove that the agreement was not executed voluntarily as an alternative to the statute's execution-time unconscionability-and-disclosure branch.
North Carolina's execution-time unconscionability branch also requires 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.
Kornegay found the reciprocal separate-property and support waivers before it were not substantively unconscionable and explained that North Carolina unconscionability analysis requires both substantive and procedural components.
For Virginia's statutory unconscionability ground, the statute examines fair and reasonable disclosure and voluntary, express written waiver of disclosure beyond what was provided; agreement recitations create a prima facie presumption of factual correctness.
Huntley held section 52B-6 unambiguous: post-marriage conduct and discussions could not rescind a premarital agreement without the required signed writing, so the agreement remained valid and barred equitable distribution under its terms.
Which state's law governs each disputed issue, and is the agreement's choice-of-law clause effective?
02
Where did the parties live, sign, marry, own property, and expect to perform the agreement?
03
Which current statutes and later cases are absent from either source-catalogued package?
04
What execution, counsel, disclosure, waiver, and financial-knowledge evidence can actually be proved?
Every source used on this page
Comparison authorities
The complete state guides contain additional authorities and limitations beyond this focused comparison.
propertystatute
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 52B-2
North Carolina statutory definitions
North Carolina defines a premarital agreement as one between prospective spouses made in contemplation of marriage and effective upon marriage, and defines property broadly to include present, future, legal, equitable, vested, contingent, real, personal, income, and earnings interests.
Application remains fact-specific and requires current licensed-counsel review.
formalitiesstatute
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 52B-3
North Carolina writing and signature requirements
A North Carolina premarital agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties and is enforceable without consideration.
Application remains fact-specific and requires current licensed-counsel review.
permitted subjectsstatute
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 52B-4(a)
North Carolina permitted agreement subjects
Permitted subjects include property rights and management, disposition, modification or elimination of spousal support, estate planning, life-insurance benefits, choice of law, and other lawful personal rights and obligations.
Application remains fact-specific and requires current licensed-counsel review.
child supportstatute
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 52B-4(b)
North Carolina child-support limitation
A North Carolina premarital agreement may not adversely affect a child's right to support.
Application remains fact-specific and requires current licensed-counsel review.
effective datestatute
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 52B-5
North Carolina effect of marriage
A North Carolina premarital agreement becomes effective upon marriage.
Application remains fact-specific and requires current licensed-counsel review.
amendment revocationstatute
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 52B-6
North Carolina amendment and revocation formalities
After marriage, amendment or revocation requires a written agreement signed by the parties and is enforceable without consideration.
Application remains fact-specific and requires current licensed-counsel review.
voluntarinessstatute
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 52B-7(a)(1)
North Carolina voluntary-execution safeguard
The party resisting enforcement may prove that the agreement was not executed voluntarily as an alternative to the statute's execution-time unconscionability-and-disclosure branch.
Application remains fact-specific and requires current licensed-counsel review.
financial disclosurestatute
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 52B-7(a)(2)
North Carolina unconscionability and disclosure safeguard
North Carolina's execution-time unconscionability branch also requires 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 three disclosure conditions are conjunctive, while involuntariness is a separate alternative ground.
public assistancestatute
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 52B-7(b)
North Carolina public-assistance support safeguard
If a support modification or elimination causes public-assistance eligibility at separation or dissolution, a court may order support only to the extent necessary to avoid that eligibility and only after making the dependent-spouse and statutory support findings specified in section 52B-7(b).
The current cross-references reflect the 1995 and 1997 amendments; this is not a general power to rewrite an unfavorable support term.
spousal supportstatute
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 52B-7(a)(2), (c)
North Carolina judicial unconscionability determination
The court decides execution-time unconscionability as a matter of law, while the public-assistance support safeguard remains separately available.
Unconscionability must be analyzed with the conjunctive disclosure conditions in subsection (a)(2).
void marriagestatute
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 52B-8
North Carolina void-marriage rule
If a marriage is void, an otherwise premarital agreement is enforceable only to the extent necessary to avoid an inequitable result.
Application remains fact-specific and requires current licensed-counsel review.
limitationsstatute
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 52B-9
North Carolina limitation-of-actions rule
An applicable limitations period for relief under a premarital agreement is tolled during marriage, while equitable time defenses including laches and estoppel remain available.
Application remains fact-specific and requires current licensed-counsel review.
effective datestatute
S.L. 1987-473, §§ 1, 3
North Carolina enactment and applicability history
North Carolina's Act became effective July 1, 1987 and applies to premarital agreements executed on or after that date; earlier agreements require historical common-law analysis.
The current chapter includes changes through S.L. 2026-7; section 52B-7(b) also carries 1995 and 1997 amendment history.
North Carolina fact-specific timing and voluntariness decision
Kornegay held that summary judgment was improper on voluntariness where the record included presentation en route to the wedding, a brief signing meeting, no explanation or reading, and disputed disclosure and knowledge facts.
Kornegay establishes no fixed waiting period and does not make any single timing fact automatically dispositive.
Kornegay treated the absence of independent counsel, the party's education and experience, the opportunity to understand the agreement, and financial disclosure or knowledge as relevant to the disputed voluntariness record.
The decision does not create a categorical statutory requirement of independent counsel; it reverses summary judgment on its disputed record.
North Carolina procedural and substantive unconscionability analysis
Kornegay found the reciprocal separate-property and support waivers before it were not substantively unconscionable and explained that North Carolina unconscionability analysis requires both substantive and procedural components.
The substantive result depended on that agreement and the parties' circumstances; it is not a safe harbor for other waivers.
North Carolina signed-writing amendment and revocation rule
Huntley held section 52B-6 unambiguous: post-marriage conduct and discussions could not rescind a premarital agreement without the required signed writing, so the agreement remained valid and barred equitable distribution under its terms.
Huntley construed the agreement and statute on its record; counsel must separately analyze waiver, estoppel, interpretation, and any later authority.
limitationsstatute
Va. Code § 20-147
Virginia act applicability date
Virginia's Premarital Agreement Act applies to premarital agreements executed on or after July 1, 1986.
The execution date should be established before applying the act's framework.
formalitiesstatute
Va. Code § 20-149
Virginia writing and signature requirements
A Virginia premarital agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties and is enforceable without consideration.
The record should preserve the complete signed agreement and every incorporated schedule.
effective datestatute
Va. Code § 20-149
Virginia effect of marriage
A Virginia premarital agreement becomes effective upon marriage.
The marriage event and agreement execution date should be distinguished in the factual timeline.
permitted subjectsstatute
Va. Code § 20-150
Virginia permitted agreement subjects
Virginia lists property rights and management, disposition, spousal support, estate planning, insurance, choice of law, and other lawful personal rights and obligations as permitted subjects.
Other matters remain limited by public policy and statutes imposing criminal penalties.
spousal supportstatute
Va. Code § 20-150(4)
Virginia spousal-support subject
Virginia expressly includes spousal support among the subjects parties may address in a premarital agreement.
The act's permitted-subject language does not itself decide enforceability under particular facts or other applicable law.
voluntarinessstatute
Va. Code § 20-151(A)(1)
Virginia voluntary-execution safeguard
A Virginia premarital agreement is not enforceable if the resisting party proves that the agreement was not executed voluntarily.
Draft history, negotiation timing, communications, counsel records, and signing circumstances can be relevant evidence for counsel to assess.
financial disclosurestatute
Va. Code § 20-151(A)(2)–(B)
Virginia disclosure and written-waiver safeguard
For Virginia's statutory unconscionability ground, the statute examines fair and reasonable disclosure and voluntary, express written waiver of disclosure beyond what was provided; agreement recitations create a prima facie presumption of factual correctness.
The statutory elements and evidentiary effect of recitations require legal analysis; a checklist does not decide them.
void marriagestatute
Va. Code § 20-151(C)
Virginia void-marriage rule
If a marriage is determined to be void, an otherwise premarital agreement is enforceable only to the extent necessary to avoid an inequitable result.
The provision does not itself predict what relief a court would find necessary.
limitationsstatute
Va. Code § 20-152
Virginia limitation-of-actions rule
An applicable limitations period for relief under a Virginia premarital agreement is tolled during marriage, while equitable defenses including laches and estoppel remain available.
Contract language should not be assumed to displace the statutory tolling rule or equitable defenses.
amendment revocationstatute
Va. Code § 20-153
Virginia amendment and revocation formalities
After marriage, a Virginia premarital agreement may be amended or revoked only by a written agreement signed by the parties.
The amended agreement or revocation is enforceable without consideration.
limitationsstatute
Va. Code § 20-154
Virginia prior written agreements
Virginia preserves qualifying written agreements entered before enactment of the chapter if they are otherwise valid as contracts.
The execution date and otherwise-valid-contract inquiry require separate factual and legal review.
limitationsstatute
Va. Code § 20-155
Virginia marital-agreement extension
Virginia generally extends the chapter's conditions to marital agreements, makes them effective immediately, and states specified exceptions for court-order or on-record terms and for reconciliation.
A document signed after marriage should be classified and reviewed under section 20-155 rather than assumed to be a premarital agreement.