(a) A premarital agreement is not enforceable if the party against whom enforcement is sought proves that:

(1) That party did not execute the agreement voluntarily; or

(2) The agreement was unconscionable when it was executed and, before execution of the agreement, that party:

(A) Was not provided a fair and reasonable disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the other party;

(B) Did not voluntarily and expressly waive, in writing, any right to disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the other party beyond the disclosure provided; and

(C) Did not have, or reasonably could not have had, an adequate knowledge of the property or financial obligations of the other party.

(b) If a provision of a premarital agreement modifies or eliminates spousal or domestic partner support and that modification or elimination causes one party to the agreement to be eligible for support under a program of public assistance at the time of separation, marital dissolution, or termination of a domestic partnership pursuant to § 32-702(d), a court, notwithstanding the terms of the agreement, may require the other party to provide support to the extent necessary to avoid that eligibility.

(c) An issue of unconscionability of a premarital agreement shall be decided by the court as a matter of law.

(Feb. 9, 1996, D.C. Law 11-82, § 7, 42 DCR 6770; Apr. 4, 2006, D.C. Law 16-79, § 8(e), 53 DCR 1035; Sept. 12, 2008, D.C. Law 17-231, § 40(b), 55 DCR 6758.)

1981 Ed., § 30-146.

D.C. Law 16-79 rewrote subsec. (b) which had read as follows: “(b) If a provision of a premarital agreement modifies or eliminates spousal support and that modification or elimination causes 1 party to the agreement to be eligible for support under a program of public assistance at the time of separation or marital dissolution, a court, notwithstanding the terms of the agreement, may require the other party to provide support to the extent necessary to avoid that eligibility.”

D.C. Law 17-231, in subsec. (b), substituted “pursuant to § 32-702(d),” for “under § 32-702,”.

Uniform Law: This section is based upon § 6 of the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act.