CONSUMERS : Getting It in Black and White Up Front

In the 1980s, heyday of prenuptial agreements, California passed a law to clear up consumer confusion. The Uniform Premarital Agreement Act covers the requirements and enforceability of prenuptial agreements signed on or after Jan. 1, 1986. Among its major provisions are:

* Only people who are planning to marry--not merely living together--may enter premarital agreements. They take effect when the couple marry.

* Both partners must sign a written agreement. They may revoke or amend it after they marry, as long as the changes are in writing and signed by both spouses.

* The agreement may cover property rights of each spouse, as well as what will happen to their property if they separate, divorce or die. If they wish, the couple may define their personal rights and marital obligations.

Prenuptial agreements meeting these legal requirements are binding contracts, as long as they were entered fairly and do not violate public policy.

Either of these situations make an agreement unenforceable:

* A person contesting the agreement did not enter it “voluntarily.” A classic example of this is when one party signs an agreement shortly before the wedding at their partner’s insistence. (“Sign this or I won’t marry you!”) Such pressured situations raise the legal issue of “duress.”

* The agreement was “unconscionable” when signed--it was so one-sided that the disadvantaged spouse effectively had no meaningful choice; the terms were unreasonably favorable to the other spouse. (“I get everything; you get nothing.”) Disadvantaged spouses also must prove that they: did not know their partners assets and debts; their partners did not fully disclose them, and that they voluntarily did not sign away their rights to the financial information.

A prenuptial agreement that seems “too good to be true” for one spouse may turn out to be just that. “If someone came to me and said ‘Draw up an agreement that says I get everything and my spouse gets nothing,’ I would not be interested,” said Stuart Walzer of Century City, a nationally known family law specialist.

The best insurance for a valid premarital agreement is to negotiate fair, reasonable terms far in advance of the wedding, under unpressured circumstances. Family law specialists in Los Angeles offer these tips:

* If your attorney drafted the agreement, be sure your spouse-to-be consults his or her own lawyer before signing it. “The presence of an independent lawyer tends to really make a big difference,” said Los Angeles County Superior Court Commissioner Robert Schnider.

* Allow your attorney to engage in negotiations as long as necessary with your fiance’s attorney. Daniel Jaffe, a prominent Beverly Hills family law specialist, recently spent eight months negotiating a premarital agreement for a client whose annual income exceeds $10 million. The more extensive the negotiations, the more likely the agreement will be upheld.

* Give full disclosure of your assets to your spouse-to be. Jaffe’s standard agreement includes a complete financial statement, and a clause that the disclosure is being made for courtesy only--not to induce the other party to sign.

* Be sure the agreement is fair to your intended. “If the agreement provides that your spouse gets no property, the judge will probably see how unfair that is, even if he upholds the agreement,” Jaffe said. “The judge may make up for that in nine different ways.” * Do not misrepresent the legal effect of the agreement to your intended. A common claim Schnider hears in his courtroom is: “I didn’t listen to my lawyer because my fiance said this was just a piece of paper and we’d rip it up in two years anyway, so I should just sign it.” This may invalidate the agreement on grounds of fraud.

* Conduct a proper signing ceremony, with witnesses, a notary, both attorneys and the couple present. Record it by audio and videotape, if possible. “Typically a party will contend, ‘I didn’t read the agreement, I didn’t understand it, I was crying hysterically, I didn’t want the agreement, the lawyer never told me I was waiving my rights,’ ” Jaffe said. “But the video may show a vastly different story.”

* Abide by the agreement’s terms. “People get sloppy,” Jaffe said.