WHAT IS A COLORADO PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENT?
A Colorado prenuptial agreement is a contract two people sign before they marry that sets out how property, debts, and spousal maintenance will be handled during the marriage, if it ends in divorce, or when one spouse dies. Colorado law calls it a premarital agreement, and agreements signed on or after July 1, 2014 are governed by the Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act, C.R.S. 14-2-301 to 14-2-313.
The Act's formal requirements are simple: the agreement must be in a record signed by both parties. It does not require witnesses or a notary. What makes a prenup hold up is how it was made: time to get independent legal advice, honest financial disclosure, and clear notice of the rights being given up.
This guide covers what a prenup can and cannot do in Colorado, when a court will refuse to enforce one, how to change or cancel one, and how postnuptial agreements work.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- The Law That Governs Colorado Prenups
- How a Prenup Is Formed
- What a Prenup Can Cover
- What a Prenup Cannot Do
- When a Court Will Not Enforce a Prenup
- Amending or Revoking a Prenup
- Postnuptial Agreements in Colorado
- Practical Steps Before You Sign
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Talking With a Colorado Springs Family Law Attorney
- Sources
THE LAW THAT GOVERNS COLORADO PRENUPS
Colorado adopted the Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act in 2013, and it took effect July 1, 2014. Under C.R.S. 14-2-303, the Act applies to any premarital or marital agreement signed on or after that date. It does not change rights under an agreement signed before July 1, 2014, so an older prenup is judged under the law that applied when it was signed.
The Act covers two kinds of agreements, defined in C.R.S. 14-2-302:
- Premarital agreement: made by two people who intend to marry.
- Marital agreement: made by spouses who intend to remain married. Most people call this a postnuptial agreement, or postnup.
The Act does not cover an agreement that needs court approval to take effect. It also does not cover an agreement spouses sign to resolve their rights when a divorce or legal separation is already pending or anticipated. That is a separation agreement, governed by C.R.S. 14-10-112.
The same rules apply to couples entering or in a civil union under C.R.S. 14-2-303.5. An agreement may also choose another state's law if that state had a significant relationship to the agreement or either party when the agreement was signed, as long as that law is not contrary to Colorado's enforcement rules in C.R.S. 14-2-309 or a fundamental Colorado public policy (C.R.S. 14-2-304).
HOW A PRENUP IS FORMED
Under C.R.S. 14-2-306, a premarital or marital agreement "must be in a record and signed by both parties." The same section says the agreement is enforceable without consideration, meaning neither spouse has to receive something extra in exchange for signing.
| Question | What Colorado's Act says |
|---|---|
| Must it be written? | Yes. It must be in a record, which can be paper or electronic. |
| Who signs? | Both parties. A signature can be a physical mark or an electronic signature. |
| Witnesses? | Not required by the Act. |
| Notary? | Not required by the Act. |
| When does it take effect? | A premarital agreement takes effect on marriage. A marital agreement takes effect when both spouses sign. |
The effective dates come from C.R.S. 14-2-307. Some couples still have signatures notarized to create a clear record of who signed and when, but the Act does not require it.
Signing a valid record is only the start. Whether a court will later enforce the agreement depends on the protections described below, so the way the agreement is negotiated matters as much as the document itself.
WHAT A PRENUP CAN COVER
A prenup in Colorado can affirm, change, or waive a "marital right or obligation." Section 14-2-302 lists what that phrase covers:
- Spousal maintenance.
- Rights to property, including how property is characterized, managed, and owned.
- Responsibility for debts.
- Rights to property and responsibility for debts at legal separation, divorce, or the death of a spouse.
- Awards and allocation of attorney fees and costs.
Separate Property and Its Growth
Without an agreement, C.R.S. 14-10-113 treats most property acquired during the marriage as marital, and it treats any increase in the value of premarital property during the marriage as marital property too. The same statute excludes "property excluded by valid agreement of the parties." A prenup is how many couples keep a business, a premarital home, or the growth in a retirement account separate.
The property rules are the same whether the marriage ends in divorce or a legal separation. Our guide to legal separation vs. divorce in Colorado explains how separate property is treated in each.
Maintenance and Estate Planning
A prenup can set, limit, or waive spousal maintenance, subject to the unconscionability check explained below. Because the Act reaches property rights at the death of a spouse, a prenup is also often coordinated with wills and trusts, especially when one or both of you have children from an earlier relationship.
WHAT A PRENUP CANNOT DO
Under C.R.S. 14-2-310, a term in a premarital or marital agreement is not enforceable to the extent that it:
- Adversely affects a child's right to support.
- Limits remedies available to a victim of domestic violence under other Colorado law.
- Changes the grounds for a legal separation or divorce.
- Penalizes a party for starting a legal separation or divorce case.
- Violates public policy.
Children: Support and Parenting Time
Section 14-2-310 also says that a term defining the parties' rights or duties about custodial responsibility for a child "is not binding on the court." Colorado decides decision-making responsibility and parenting time, what most people call custody, based on the child's best interests when the issue comes before the court.
Child support is protected too. A court sets support under Colorado's guidelines, and a prenup term that adversely affects a child's right to support is unenforceable. If you have questions about how support is calculated, a Colorado Springs child support lawyer can walk you through the guidelines.
WHEN A COURT WILL NOT ENFORCE A PRENUP
Under C.R.S. 14-2-309, a premarital or marital agreement is unenforceable if the party resisting it proves any one of four things. The burden is on the person challenging the agreement.
Involuntary Consent or Duress
The agreement fails if a party's consent "was involuntary or the result of duress." Presenting an agreement for signature days before a wedding can invite this kind of challenge.
No Access to Independent Legal Representation
The Act defines access to independent legal representation in terms of time and money. Before signing, the party must have had a reasonable time to decide whether to hire a lawyer, to find one, get that lawyer's advice, and consider it. Where the other party is represented by a lawyer, the party must also have had the financial ability to hire one, or the other party must have agreed to pay reasonable fees for one.
No Waiver Notice or Plain-Language Explanation
If a party did not have independent legal representation when signing, the agreement must include either a notice of waiver of rights or a plain-language explanation of the marital rights being changed or waived. The notice must be conspicuously displayed and substantially similar to the statute's model, which warns that by signing you may be:
- Giving up your right to be supported by the person you are marrying or to whom you are married.
- Giving up your right to ownership or control of money and property.
- Agreeing to pay bills and debts of the person you are marrying or to whom you are married.
- Giving up your right to money and property if your marriage ends or the person to whom you are married dies.
- Giving up your right to have your legal fees paid.
Inadequate Financial Disclosure
Before signing, each party must have received adequate financial disclosure. That means "a reasonably accurate description and good-faith estimate of value of the property, liabilities, and income of the other party," or adequate knowledge, or a reasonable basis for adequate knowledge, of that information.
Unconscionable Maintenance or Fee Terms
Even an agreement that passes those four tests can have specific terms set aside. Terms about spousal maintenance, or waiving or allocating attorney fees, are unenforceable if they are "unconscionable at the time of enforcement," and the court decides that question as a matter of law. The test looks at circumstances when the agreement is enforced, not when it was signed, so a waiver that seemed fair at the wedding can be reviewed years later.
Timing of a Challenge
Under C.R.S. 14-2-311, any statute of limitations on a claim under the agreement is paused during the marriage. Either party may still raise equitable defenses such as laches and estoppel.
AMENDING OR REVOKING A PRENUP
The Act defines an "amendment" as a modification or revocation of a premarital or marital agreement. Under C.R.S. 14-2-309, an agreement or an amendment that is not in a record signed by both parties is unenforceable, so a spoken promise to "tear up the prenup" does not change it.
An amendment signed after the wedding is itself a marital agreement under C.R.S. 14-2-302. That means it needs the same protections as the original: time to consult counsel, financial disclosure, and a waiver notice or plain-language explanation where a party is unrepresented.
POSTNUPTIAL AGREEMENTS IN COLORADO
A postnup is a marital agreement between spouses who intend to stay married. It takes effect when both spouses sign, and it is tested under the same enforcement rules as a prenup.
Couples sign postnups after a business starts to grow, after one spouse receives an inheritance, or after a period of financial strain. An inheritance is generally separate property under C.R.S. 14-10-113, but any increase in its value during the marriage is treated as marital, which is one reason couples choose to address it in writing.
A postnup is different from a separation agreement. Once a divorce or legal separation is pending or anticipated, an agreement resolving the spouses' rights falls under C.R.S. 14-10-112 instead. Under that statute, the agreement's terms bind the court unless they are unconscionable, except terms about children, which the court decides.
Former spouses who plan to marry each other again often sign a new agreement first. Our article on whether you can remarry the same person after divorce covers that situation, and couples who never had a ceremony may want to read about common law marriage in Colorado.
PRACTICAL STEPS BEFORE YOU SIGN
- Start early. The Act does not set a fixed deadline, but it does require a reasonable time to get and consider legal advice. Starting months before the wedding removes a common basis for challenge.
- Each get your own lawyer. Each of you should have a lawyer who represents only you, not one lawyer for both. Separate counsel on each side is the clearest way to meet the Act's access requirement.
- Exchange real numbers. List assets, debts, and income with good-faith values, and attach the lists to the agreement.
- Use plain language. Include the waiver notice and explain in ordinary words what each of you is giving up.
- Coordinate with your estate plan. Make sure wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations match the agreement.
- Revisit it. After a child, a business sale, or a move, consider whether a signed amendment makes sense.
For other questions about marriage, divorce, and property in Colorado, you can browse more family law articles from our firm.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Does a Prenup Need to Be Notarized in Colorado?
No. Under C.R.S. 14-2-306, a premarital agreement must be in a record and signed by both parties, and the Act does not require a notary or witnesses.
Can a Prenup Decide Custody or Child Support in Colorado?
No. A term that adversely affects a child's right to support is unenforceable, and terms about parenting do not bind the court, which decides parenting issues based on the child's best interests.
Can a Prenup Waive Spousal Maintenance?
Yes, a prenup can limit or waive maintenance. However, a court will not enforce maintenance terms that are unconscionable at the time of enforcement, and it decides that question as a matter of law.
Is a Prenup Signed Before July 1, 2014 Still Valid?
It may be. The current Act applies to agreements signed on or after July 1, 2014, and it does not affect rights under earlier agreements, which are generally judged under the law in effect when they were signed.
Can We Sign a Prenup the Week Before the Wedding?
The Act sets no fixed deadline, but it requires a reasonable time to decide on, find, and consult a lawyer, and it allows a challenge for duress. Signing at the last minute makes those challenges easier to raise.
TALKING WITH A COLORADO SPRINGS FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY
A prenup or postnup is more likely to hold up when both of you understand it and had a fair chance to negotiate it. If you are planning a wedding or thinking about a marital agreement, a Colorado Springs family law attorney can review a draft or explain your options.
Moran, Allen & Associates Family Law Attorneys works with couples in El Paso County and Teller County. Call (719) 447-0762 in Colorado Springs or (719) 686-7554 in Woodland Park, or schedule a free consultation to talk through your situation.
This article is general information about Colorado law as of October 2026 and is not legal advice. Laws and court procedures change, so speak with a licensed Colorado attorney about your own situation.
SOURCES
- C.R.S. 14-2-301 to 14-2-313, Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act
- C.R.S. 14-2-302, Definitions
- C.R.S. 14-2-303, Scope
- C.R.S. 14-2-303.5, Agreements Relating to Civil Unions
- C.R.S. 14-2-304, Governing Law
- C.R.S. 14-2-306, Formation Requirements
- C.R.S. 14-2-307, When Agreement Effective
- C.R.S. 14-2-309, Enforcement
- C.R.S. 14-2-310, Unenforceable Terms
- C.R.S. 14-2-311, Limitation of Action
- C.R.S. 14-10-112, Separation Agreements
- C.R.S. 14-10-113, Disposition of Property
- Colorado Session Laws 2013, Chapter 239 (HB 13-1204), Text of the Act Including the Notice of Waiver of Rights