The Connecticut Premarital Act, Connecticut General Statutes Section 46b-36g, requires that parties to a prenuptial agreement provide fair and reasonable disclosure of the amount, character, and value of the property, financial obligations and income to the other party.
Note – this duty to inform exists regardless as to whether the other party has requested the information or sought clarification.
A recent case illustrates this point. The schedule attached to the prenuptial agreement listed assets, rent and a column labeled “N.O.I.” N.O.I. was not defined in the agreement.
At trial, the plaintiff testified that N.O.I. meant “net operating income.” However, the premarital agreement failed to define net income and failed to set forth how net income was calculated. Bottom line – based on the information set forth in the agreement – the defendant could not have accurately known the plaintiff’s income. Therefore, the agreement was ultimately determined to be invalid.
As stated in prior posts, more is more. Therefore, notwithstanding that the law only requires “fair and reasonable” disclosure, the far better approach is to fully disclose one’s financial circumstances. If not, the agreement may not survive a challenge in court.