Oregon writing and signature requirements
An Oregon premarital agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties and is enforceable without consideration.
ORS 108.705OR · Manually written guide
Prenup laws in Oregon
Oregon's Uniform Premarital Agreement Act in sections 108.700 through 108.740 covers writing, content, effect, modification, and enforcement.ORS 108.705ORS 108.710(1)ORS 108.725(1)(a)
Oregon's package separates the document's permitted subjects from the voluntariness and financial evidence required for enforcement review.ORS 108.710(1)ORS 108.725(1)(a)
Evidence tiersection verified
Package versionor-2026-07-22.3
Authorities15
Reviewed2026-07-22
Effective through2026-07-22
Formation and lifecycle
Execution requirements to investigate
Oregon effect of marriage
An Oregon premarital agreement becomes effective upon marriage.
ORS 108.715Oregon amendment and revocation formalities
After marriage, amendment or revocation requires a written agreement signed by the parties and is enforceable without consideration.
ORS 108.720Oregon historical applicability and support decision
Purcell quotes the 1987 Act's January 1, 1988 effective date and its application only to agreements executed on or after that date, then applies pre-Act law to a 1985 agreement and permits temporary support on that record.
Purcell and Purcell, 99 Or. App. 668, 783 P.2d 1038 (1989)What the agreement addresses
Permitted subjects and legal limits
Oregon statutory definitions
Oregon defines a premarital agreement as an agreement 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.
ORS 108.700Oregon permitted agreement subjects
Permitted subjects include property rights and control, disposition, modification or elimination of spousal support, estate-planning arrangements, life-insurance benefits, choice of law for construction, and other personal rights and obligations not violating public policy or criminal law.
ORS 108.710(1)Oregon child-support limitation
An Oregon premarital agreement may not adversely affect a child's right to support.
ORS 108.710(2)Oregon public- and medical-assistance support safeguard
A court may require support to the extent necessary to avoid eligibility for public assistance or medical assistance caused by a support modification or elimination at separation or dissolution.
ORS 108.725(2); 2013 Or. Laws ch. 688, § 12Oregon void-marriage rule
If a marriage is void, an otherwise premarital agreement is enforceable only as necessary to avoid an inequitable result.
ORS 108.730Oregon limitation-of-actions rule
Oregon tolls an applicable limitation period for a premarital-agreement claim during marriage while preserving equitable time defenses including laches and estoppel.
ORS 108.735Oregon short title, uniformity, and severability
Oregon designates the sections as its Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, directs uniform construction, and preserves valid applications if another provision or application is invalid.
ORS 108.740; 1987 Or. Laws ch. 715Oregon official premarital-agreement case annotations
Oregon's official annotations identify Bridge for the necessary-support limit on a spousal-support waiver, Proctor for the limited effect of a construction choice-of-law clause, and Rudder for the statutory meaning of voluntary execution.
Annotations to ORS 108.710 and 108.725Process evidence
Financial disclosure, voluntariness, counsel, and timing
Oregon voluntary-execution safeguard
The party resisting enforcement in Oregon bears the burden to prove that the agreement was not executed voluntarily.
ORS 108.725(1)(a)Oregon unconscionability and disclosure safeguard
Oregon's execution-time unconscionability ground also requires all three statutory disclosure conditions: no fair and reasonable disclosure, no voluntary express written waiver, and no adequate knowledge of the other party's property or financial obligations.
ORS 108.725(1)(b), (3)Oregon Court of Appeals voluntariness interpretation
Rudder held the agreement involuntary on its record after considering last-minute presentation, requested but unavailable independent counsel, incomplete disclosure, financial sophistication, and the party's knowledge of the agreement and affected property.
Rudder and Rudder, 230 Or. App. 437, 217 P.3d 183 (2009)Hypotheticals, not outcomes
Practical examples
These examples show how document facts can intersect with the cited sources. They do not predict a court result.
The unsigned modification
The spouses later agree verbally to change a property term. Oregon has a dedicated modification provision, making the later document trail a threshold issue.ORS 108.705ORS 108.710(1)
Ask local counsel
Did the later agreement satisfy Oregon's statutory modification requirements?
The child-support cap
A provision caps future child support. Oregon's content section protects the child's right to support from adverse contractual effect.ORS 108.710(1)
Ask local counsel
How should counsel separate the child-support term from otherwise contractible subjects?
Common starting points
Oregon prenup FAQs
Answers are deliberately scoped to the cited evidence package and should be checked against current law.
What form does Oregon require?
Oregon Revised Statutes section 108.705 supplies the cited writing requirement.ORS 108.705
What child-support protection appears?
Section 108.710 preserves child-support rights while cataloguing permitted subjects.ORS 108.710(1)
Where are enforcement safeguards found?
Section 108.725 supplies Oregon's cited voluntariness and financial safeguards.ORS 108.725(1)(a)
Prepare for independent advice
Questions for a Oregon lawyer
Bring the agreement, every exhibit, prior drafts, disclosure records, and a signing timeline. Then use the source-linked questions as an interview guide.
- 01
Does the document fit the statutory definition, and which interests fall within its property terms?ORS 108.700
- 02
Is the complete agreement, including every incorporated schedule, written and signed by both parties?ORS 108.705
- 03
Does each material clause fit a permitted and lawful subject?ORS 108.710(1)
- 04
Does any provision purport to adversely affect a child's support right?ORS 108.710(2)
- 05
Did the contemplated marriage occur, and when did the agreement become effective?ORS 108.715
- 06
Is every claimed amendment or revocation supported by the required signed writing?ORS 108.720
- 07
What admissible evidence bears on voluntary execution under section 108.725 and Rudder?ORS 108.725(1)(a)
- 08
What evidence addresses every component of section 108.725(1)(b)?ORS 108.725(1)(b), (3)
- 09
Could the support term cause qualifying public- or medical-assistance eligibility?ORS 108.725(2); 2013 Or. Laws ch. 688, § 12
- 10
How could marriage validity affect relief?ORS 108.730
- 11
How do tolling and equitable defenses affect the claim timeline?ORS 108.735
- 12
Does a historical text or severability issue require clause-specific analysis?ORS 108.740; 1987 Or. Laws ch. 715
- 13
Which annotated rule is implicated, and does the full opinion and current statute support its application here?Annotations to ORS 108.710 and 108.725
- 14
How does the preserved negotiation, counsel, timing, and disclosure record compare with Rudder?Rudder and Rudder, 230 Or. App. 437, 217 P.3d 183 (2009)
- 15
Was the agreement executed before January 1, 1988, and what historical law governs it?Purcell and Purcell, 99 Or. App. 668, 783 P.2d 1038 (1989)
Known boundaries
Package limitations
- This package encodes the cited official statutory sections but does not decide how a court would apply them to particular facts.
- Later amendments, decisions, court rules, conflicts rules, and local practice require continuing review.
- Attorney review is optional and can add a professional opinion; this package supports transparent research and issue spotting without prior endorsement.