No marriage without prenup?

It was reported in another blog that the marriage of Lamar Odom of the LA Lakers and reality TV star Khloe Kardashian could not take place as scheduled because the terms of the prenuptial agreement were not finalized. While this may be true in the jurisdiction where they were getting married, this is not true in Pennsylvania.

According to the article, that jurisdiction’s law mandates are reasonable period of time for the parties to review the prenuptial agreement before they can sign it and then get married. Pennsylvania law does not contain such a restriction. Under Pennsylvania law, a prenuptial agreement is a document executed by 2 people who want to get married that is signed in contemplation of that marriage and does not become effective until the agreement is signed.

There is a presumption that a prenuptial agreement duly executed by two people prior to their marriage is going to be enforceable. To challenge a prenuptial agreement, it must be proven that one person did not sign the prenuptial agreement voluntarily. From a practical perspective, the person who wants to set aside the agreement would have to show that he or she did not sign the agreement voluntarily.

In the alternative, the person challenging the agreement would have to show three things: that there was not full and fair disclosure of assets and debts in the agreement itself, that there was not express waiver of the requirement that there be that financial disclosure and that one person did not have adequate knowledge of the other person’s finances.

There is no statutorily required time period under Pennsylvania law during which each person is supposed to be given the time to review and sign the prenuptial agreement. If the signatures of the parties are on the document, it will be upheld, so long as there are no meritorious defenses, as outlined above.

So for Klhoe and Lamar, if they were in Pennsylvania, so long as they had their marriage ceremony (as opposed to just the reception), they would be married.

The requirement