FAMILY CODE
CHAPTER 4. PREMARITAL AND MARITAL PROPERTY AGREEMENTS
SUBCHAPTER A. UNIFORM PREMARITAL AGREEMENT ACT
§ 4.001. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Premarital agreement" means an agreement between
prospective spouses made in contemplation of marriage and to be
effective on marriage.
(2) "Property" means an interest, present or future,
legal or equitable, vested or contingent, in real or personal
property, including income and earnings.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
§ 4.002. FORMALITIES. A premarital agreement must be in
writing and signed by both parties. The agreement is enforceable
without consideration.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
§ 4.003. CONTENT. (a) The parties to a premarital
agreement may contract with respect to:
(1) the rights and obligations of each of the parties
in any of the property of either or both of them whenever and
wherever acquired or located;
(2) the right to buy, sell, use, transfer, exchange,
abandon, lease, consume, expend, assign, create a security interest
in, mortgage, encumber, dispose of, or otherwise manage and control
property;
(3) the disposition of property on separation, marital
dissolution, death, or the occurrence or nonoccurrence of any other
event;
(4) the modification or elimination of spousal
support;
(5) the making of a will, trust, or other arrangement
to carry out the provisions of the agreement;
(6) the ownership rights in and disposition of the
death benefit from a life insurance policy;
(7) the choice of law governing the construction of
the agreement; and
(8) any other matter, including their personal rights
and obligations, not in violation of public policy or a statute
imposing a criminal penalty.
(b) The right of a child to support may not be adversely
affected by a premarital agreement.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
§ 4.004. EFFECT OF MARRIAGE. A premarital agreement
becomes effective on marriage.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
§ 4.005. AMENDMENT OR REVOCATION. After marriage, a
premarital agreement may be amended or revoked only by a written
agreement signed by the parties. The amended agreement or the
revocation is enforceable without consideration.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
§ 4.006. ENFORCEMENT. (a) A premarital agreement is
not enforceable if the party against whom enforcement is requested
proves that:
(1) the party did not sign the agreement voluntarily;
or
(2) the agreement was unconscionable when it was
signed and, before signing 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, adequate knowledge of the property or financial obligations of
the other party.
(b) An issue of unconscionability of a premarital agreement
shall be decided by the court as a matter of law.
(c) The remedies and defenses in this section are the
exclusive remedies or defenses, including common law remedies or
defenses.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
§ 4.007. ENFORCEMENT: VOID MARRIAGE. If a marriage is
determined to be void, an agreement that would otherwise have been a
premarital agreement is enforceable only to the extent necessary to
avoid an inequitable result.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
§ 4.008. LIMITATION OF ACTIONS. A statute of
limitations applicable to an action asserting a claim for relief
under a premarital agreement is tolled during the marriage of the
parties to the agreement. However, equitable defenses limiting the
time for enforcement, including laches and estoppel, are available
to either party.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
§ 4.009. APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION. This subchapter
shall be applied and construed to effect its general purpose to make
uniform the law with respect to the subject of this subchapter among
states enacting these provisions.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
§ 4.010. SHORT TITLE. This subchapter may be cited as
the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
SUBCHAPTER B. MARITAL PROPERTY AGREEMENT
§ 4.101. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "property"
has the meaning assigned by Section 4.001.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
§ 4.102. PARTITION OR EXCHANGE OF COMMUNITY
PROPERTY. At any time, the spouses may partition or exchange
between themselves all or part of their community property, then
existing or to be acquired, as the spouses may desire. Property or
a property interest transferred to a spouse by a partition or
exchange agreement becomes that spouse's separate property. The
partition or exchange of property includes future earnings and
income arising from the property as the separate property of the
owning spouse unless the spouses agree in a record that the future
earnings and income will be community property after the partition
or exchange.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 230, § 2, eff. Sept. 1,
2003.
§ 4.103. AGREEMENT BETWEEN SPOUSES CONCERNING INCOME OR
PROPERTY FROM SEPARATE PROPERTY. At any time, the spouses may
agree that the income or property arising from the separate
property that is then owned by one of them, or that may thereafter
be acquired, shall be the separate property of the owner.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
§ 4.104. FORMALITIES. A partition or exchange
agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
§ 4.105. ENFORCEMENT. (a) A partition or exchange
agreement is not enforceable if the party against whom enforcement
is requested proves that:
(1) the party did not sign the agreement voluntarily;
or
(2) the agreement was unconscionable when it was
signed 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, adequate knowledge of the property or financial obligations of
the other party.
(b) An issue of unconscionability of a partition or exchange
agreement shall be decided by the court as a matter of law.
(c) The remedies and defenses in this section are the
exclusive remedies or defenses, including common law remedies or
defenses.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
§ 4.106. RIGHTS OF CREDITORS AND RECORDATION UNDER
PARTITION OR EXCHANGE AGREEMENT. (a) A provision of a partition
or exchange agreement made under this subchapter is void with
respect to the rights of a preexisting creditor whose rights are
intended to be defrauded by it.
(b) A partition or exchange agreement made under this
subchapter may be recorded in the deed records of the county in
which a party resides and in the county in which the real property
affected is located. An agreement made under this subchapter is
constructive notice to a good faith purchaser for value or a
creditor without actual notice only if the instrument is
acknowledged and recorded in the county in which the real property
is located.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, § 1, eff. April 17, 1997.
SUBCHAPTER C. AGREEMENT TO CONVERT SEPARATE PROPERTY TO COMMUNITY
PROPERTY
§ 4.201. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "property"
has the meaning assigned by Section 4.001.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 692, § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2000.
§ 4.202. AGREEMENT TO CONVERT TO COMMUNITY PROPERTY. At
any time, spouses may agree that all or part of the separate
property owned by either or both spouses is converted to community
property.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 692, § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2000.
§ 4.203. FORMALITIES OF AGREEMENT. (a) An agreement
to convert separate property to community property:
(1) must be in writing and:
(A) be signed by the spouses;
(B) identify the property being converted; and
(C) specify that the property is being converted
to the spouses' community property; and
(2) is enforceable without consideration.
(b) The mere transfer of a spouse's separate property to the
name of the other spouse or to the name of both spouses is not
sufficient to convert the property to community property under this
subchapter.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 692, § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2000.
§ 4.204. MANAGEMENT OF CONVERTED PROPERTY. Except as
specified in the agreement to convert the property and as provided
by Subchapter B, Chapter 3, and other law, property converted to
community property under this subchapter is subject to:
(1) the sole management, control, and disposition of
the spouse in whose name the property is held;
(2) the sole management, control, and disposition of
the spouse who transferred the property if the property is not
subject to evidence of ownership;
(3) the joint management, control, and disposition of
the spouses if the property is held in the name of both spouses; or
(4) the joint management, control, and disposition of
the spouses if the property is not subject to evidence of ownership
and was owned by both spouses before the property was converted to
community property.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 692, § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2000.
§ 4.205. ENFORCEMENT. (a) An agreement to convert
property to community property under this subchapter is not
enforceable if the spouse against whom enforcement is sought proves
that the spouse did not:
(1) execute the agreement voluntarily; or
(2) receive a fair and reasonable disclosure of the
legal effect of converting the property to community property.
(b) An agreement that contains the following statement, or
substantially similar words, prominently displayed in bold-faced
type, capital letters, or underlined, is rebuttably presumed to
provide a fair and reasonable disclosure of the legal effect of
converting property to community property:
"THIS INSTRUMENT CHANGES SEPARATE PROPERTY TO COMMUNITY
PROPERTY. THIS MAY HAVE ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES DURING MARRIAGE AND ON
TERMINATION OF THE MARRIAGE BY DEATH OR DIVORCE. FOR EXAMPLE:
"EXPOSURE TO CREDITORS. IF YOU SIGN THIS AGREEMENT, ALL
OR PART OF THE SEPARATE PROPERTY BEING CONVERTED TO COMMUNITY
PROPERTY MAY BECOME SUBJECT TO THE LIABILITIES OF YOUR SPOUSE. IF
YOU DO NOT SIGN THIS AGREEMENT, YOUR SEPARATE PROPERTY IS GENERALLY
NOT SUBJECT TO THE LIABILITIES OF YOUR SPOUSE UNLESS YOU ARE
PERSONALLY LIABLE UNDER ANOTHER RULE OF LAW.
"LOSS OF MANAGEMENT RIGHTS. IF YOU SIGN THIS AGREEMENT,
ALL OR PART OF THE SEPARATE PROPERTY BEING CONVERTED TO COMMUNITY
PROPERTY MAY BECOME SUBJECT TO EITHER THE JOINT MANAGEMENT,
CONTROL, AND DISPOSITION OF YOU AND YOUR SPOUSE OR THE SOLE
MANAGEMENT, CONTROL, AND DISPOSITION OF YOUR SPOUSE ALONE. IN THAT
EVENT, YOU WILL LOSE YOUR MANAGEMENT RIGHTS OVER THE PROPERTY. IF
YOU DO NOT SIGN THIS AGREEMENT, YOU WILL GENERALLY RETAIN THOSE
RIGHTS."
"LOSS OF PROPERTY OWNERSHIP. IF YOU SIGN THIS AGREEMENT
AND YOUR MARRIAGE IS SUBSEQUENTLY TERMINATED BY THE DEATH OF EITHER
SPOUSE OR BY DIVORCE, ALL OR PART OF THE SEPARATE PROPERTY BEING
CONVERTED TO COMMUNITY PROPERTY MAY BECOME THE SOLE PROPERTY OF
YOUR SPOUSE OR YOUR SPOUSE'S HEIRS. IF YOU DO NOT SIGN THIS
AGREEMENT, YOU GENERALLY CANNOT BE DEPRIVED OF OWNERSHIP OF YOUR
SEPARATE PROPERTY ON TERMINATION OF YOUR MARRIAGE, WHETHER BY DEATH
OR DIVORCE."
(c) If a proceeding regarding enforcement of an agreement
under this subchapter occurs after the death of the spouse against
whom enforcement is sought, the proof required by Subsection (a)
may be made by an heir of the spouse or the personal representative
of the estate of that spouse.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 692, § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2000.
Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 230, § 3, eff. Sept. 1,
2003.
§ 4.206. RIGHTS OF CREDITORS; RECORDING. (a) A
conversion of separate property to community property does not
affect the rights of a preexisting creditor of the spouse whose
separate property is being converted.
(b) A conversion of separate property to community property
may be recorded in the deed records of the county in which a spouse
resides and of the county in which any real property is located.
(c) A conversion of real property from separate property to
community property is constructive notice to a good faith purchaser
for value or a creditor without actual notice only if the agreement
to convert the property is acknowledged and recorded in the deed
records of the county in which the real property is located.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 692, § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2000.
