Plain-English Glossary

Colorado Prenup & Postnup Glossary

The words you will see in a Colorado marital agreement, defined simply. See also the longmont.law family law glossary.

Amendment

A modification or revocation of a premarital or marital agreement (C.R.S. § 14-2-302(1)). It must be in a record signed by both parties.

Commingling

Mixing separate property with marital property, such as depositing an inheritance into a joint account. A good agreement says how commingled property will be treated.

Duress

Pressure that overcomes free will. Involuntary consent or duress makes an agreement unenforceable (C.R.S. § 14-2-309(1)(a)).

Good-faith estimate of value

An honest approximation of what an asset or debt is worth. Part of adequate financial disclosure (C.R.S. § 14-2-309(4)).

Independent legal representation

Your own lawyer, not your partner's. Colorado looks at whether each party had access to one (C.R.S. § 14-2-309(2)).

Marital agreement

Colorado's term for a postnup: an agreement between spouses who intend to remain married (C.R.S. § 14-2-302(2)).

Marital right or obligation

Maintenance, property rights, responsibility for debts, rights at separation, divorce or death, and attorney fees and costs (C.R.S. § 14-2-302(4)).

Notice of waiver of rights

The statutory warning that must appear conspicuously when a party signs without a lawyer, unless the agreement explains the waived rights in plain language (C.R.S. § 14-2-309(3)).

Premarital agreement

An agreement between people who intend to marry; effective on marriage (C.R.S. §§ 14-2-302(5), 14-2-307).

Property

Under the act, property includes income and earnings (C.R.S. § 14-2-302(6)).

Record

Information on a tangible medium or stored electronically and retrievable in perceivable form (C.R.S. § 14-2-302(7)).

Separate property

Property that belongs to one spouse alone. A prenup or postnup can define what stays separate.

Spousal maintenance

Colorado's term for alimony. An agreement can address it, subject to review for unconscionability at enforcement (C.R.S. § 14-2-309(5)).

Sunset clause

A term that ends some or all of an agreement after a set number of years or an event. Whether to include one is a strategic choice to discuss with counsel.

Unconscionable

So one-sided as to be unfair. In Colorado, maintenance and attorney-fee terms are tested for unconscionability at the time of enforcement (C.R.S. § 14-2-309(5)).