A prenuptial agreement, called a premarital agreement under Colorado law, is a contract two people sign before marriage. It sets out how property, debt, and financial support will be handled if the marriage ends in divorce or death.
Not legal advice. This article is general information only. Prenup laws differ by state and change over time. Consult a licensed attorney in your state before acting on anything here.
Colorado treats these agreements under a specific statute with rules that differ from most other states. Understanding those rules decides whether an agreement holds up or a court refuses to enforce it.
This guide explains what Colorado law requires, what a prenup can and cannot do, and how much one typically costs.
Which Law Governs Colorado Prenups?
Colorado adopted the Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act (UPMAA), found at C.R.S. § 14-2-301 and following sections. The law took effect in 2014 and applies to agreements signed on or after July 1, 2014.
This matters because Colorado is one of only a small number of states to adopt the UPMAA. Most states use the older Uniform Premarital Agreement Act (UPAA), which has weaker protections for the signing parties.
The UPMAA adds requirements around access to legal counsel and written notice that do not exist under the older law. If you read general advice about prenups online, it often describes the UPAA standard, not the Colorado standard.
Are Prenuptial Agreements Enforceable in Colorado?
Yes. Colorado courts enforce premarital agreements that meet the statutory requirements. The enforcement test lives in C.R.S. § 14-2-309.
The UPMAA Enforceability Test
Under C.R.S. § 14-2-309, a premarital agreement is unenforceable if the person challenging it proves any one of four things. The grounds are written so that a single failure can void the agreement or a specific provision.
An agreement is unenforceable if the party’s consent was involuntary or the result of duress. It is also unenforceable if the party did not have access to independent legal representation.
It is unenforceable if the party was waiving marital rights but did not receive a notice of those waived rights, unless that party had a lawyer. Lastly, it fails if the party did not receive adequate financial disclosure before signing.
Access to Counsel and Notice of Waiver
The access to counsel rule is distinctive to UPMAA states. A party does not have to actually hire a lawyer, but must have a real opportunity to do so.
That means having time to find an attorney, get advice, and consider it before signing. If one party is represented and the other is not, the unrepresented party must either have the money to hire counsel or be offered payment for one.
When a party has no lawyer, the agreement must contain a conspicuous notice in plain language describing the marital rights being modified or waived. Leaving out this notice can make the agreement unenforceable against the unrepresented party.
Who Bears the Burden of Proof
The party who wants out of the agreement carries the burden. They must prove one of the statutory grounds applies.
This favors enforcement when the document was prepared carefully. A prenup with clear disclosure, separate counsel for both sides, and the proper waiver notice is hard to overturn.
What a Colorado Prenup Is Allowed to Cover
A premarital agreement can address most financial matters between the spouses. The table below shows common subjects.
| Topic | What the Agreement Can Do |
|---|---|
| Separate property | Define which assets stay one spouse’s individual property |
| Marital property | Set how property acquired during marriage is classified and divided |
| Debt | Assign responsibility for premarital and future debts |
| Spousal maintenance | Modify, limit, or waive maintenance, subject to limits at enforcement |
| Business interests | Protect a company or professional practice from division |
| Estate rights | Coordinate with wills and waive certain inheritance claims |
| Death benefits | Direct how life insurance or retirement proceeds are handled |
What a Colorado Prenup Cannot Do
Some terms are off limits no matter what both parties agree to. A court will ignore or strike these provisions.
- It cannot adversely affect a child’s right to support. Under C.R.S. § 14-2-310, child support rights cannot be reduced or waived by the agreement.
- It cannot decide child custody or parenting time in advance. Those issues are decided on the child’s best interests at the time of the dispute.
- It cannot include terms that violate public policy or criminal law.
- It cannot penalize a spouse for filing for divorce or legal separation.
- It cannot change the legal grounds for divorce or separation available in Colorado.
Signing a Colorado Prenup the Right Way
The formation rules are in C.R.S. § 14-2-306. They are short but strict.
Writing and Signatures
The agreement must be in a record and signed by both parties. A spoken or handshake agreement is not enforceable. A record includes a printed document or an electronic one that can be retrieved.
No Consideration Required
Colorado does not require separate consideration for the agreement to be valid. The marriage itself supports the contract, so no exchange of money or property is needed to make it binding.
Timing Before the Wedding
The statute does not set a fixed deadline, but timing affects the voluntary consent and access to counsel tests. Signing days before the ceremony invites a duress claim, so finishing weeks in advance is safer.
Spousal Maintenance in a Colorado Prenup
Couples can modify or waive spousal maintenance, the Colorado term for alimony, in a premarital agreement. This is one of the most common reasons people sign one.
There is an important limit. Under C.R.S. § 14-2-309, a maintenance waiver or limit is unenforceable if it is unconscionable at the time enforcement is sought, not only when it was signed.
The court decides unconscionability as a matter of law. If enforcing the waiver would leave one spouse in severe hardship at divorce, a judge can refuse to apply it even though the agreement was valid when made.
Full Financial Disclosure
Adequate financial disclosure is a core requirement. Each party should receive a reasonably accurate account of the other’s assets, debts, and income before signing.
Hiding accounts or understating value is a common way agreements collapse later. The safest practice is to attach a written schedule of each person’s finances to the agreement.
A party can waive disclosure in writing, but doing so is risky. Without disclosure, the challenging party has an easier path to proving the agreement should not be enforced.
No Prenup? How Colorado Splits Property
Colorado is an equitable distribution state. Without an agreement, a court divides marital property in a way it considers fair, which is not always an equal split.
Marital property generally includes most assets and debts acquired during the marriage, regardless of whose name is on them. Separate property, such as assets owned before marriage or received by gift or inheritance, usually stays with the original owner, though increases in its value can be treated as marital.
A prenup lets the couple set their own rules instead of leaving the outcome to a judge’s view of fairness.
Common Reasons Colorado Prenups Fail
Most failed agreements share a few avoidable mistakes. Watch for these.
- One party was pressured to sign right before the wedding, supporting a duress claim.
- An unrepresented party never had a genuine chance to consult a lawyer.
- The required notice of waived rights was missing for an unrepresented spouse.
- Financial disclosure was incomplete, vague, or false.
- The document tried to limit child support or dictate custody.
- A maintenance waiver became unconscionable by the time of divorce.
What Does a Prenup Cost in Colorado?
Cost depends on how complex your finances are and whether each person hires a separate attorney. The ranges below are typical.
| Option | Typical Cost |
|---|---|
| Simple agreement, attorney drafted | $1,500 to $5,000 per couple |
| Complex estate or business assets | $2,000 to $7,000 per person |
| Online prenup platform | A few hundred dollars, flat fee |
Online services such as HelloPrenup let couples build an agreement together at a fixed price, then have attorneys review it if they choose. This is often the lowest cost route for straightforward situations.
How to Set Up Your Colorado Prenup
A clean process protects the agreement from later challenges. Follow these steps.
- Start early, ideally several weeks or months before the wedding.
- Talk openly with your partner about goals and expectations.
- Prepare a full written list of your assets, debts, and income.
- Exchange that financial disclosure with each other.
- Draft the agreement, using an attorney or a reputable online platform.
- Give an unrepresented party real time to consult independent counsel.
- Include the required notice of waived rights if a party has no lawyer.
- Both parties sign the written agreement, ideally before a notary.
Final Thoughts on a Colorado Prenup
Colorado’s UPMAA gives couples broad freedom to plan their finances, paired with strong safeguards around counsel, notice, and disclosure. Meeting those requirements is what makes an agreement reliable.
Take your time, disclose honestly, and make sure both parties understand what they are signing. A well prepared prenup is far more likely to be enforced when it matters.
Sources
- Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 14, Article 2, Part 3, Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act, C.R.S. § 14-2-301 et seq.
- C.R.S. § 14-2-306, Formation requirements (record, signed, enforceable without consideration).
- C.R.S. § 14-2-309, Enforcement (grounds for unenforceability and the unconscionability limit on spousal maintenance).
- C.R.S. § 14-2-310, Effect on child support.
- Colorado UPMAA, Title 14, Article 2, Part 3 (Justia)