Judical Code

Section 1. Scope of antenuptial contracts.

a. Marital and separate property.

Antenuptial contracts may cover both marital and separate property of the spouses, except that the parties may not contract regarding any per capita payments from the Prairie Island Mdewakanton Dakota Community which either party may be receiving.

b. Death and divorce of either spouse.

An antenuptial contract may anticipate the death of a spouse and/or divorce as long as the contract does not encourage divorce.

c. Children.

Antenuptial contracts may include provisions governing children of the spouses, but such provisions will only be upheld as long as they are determined by a Court to be in the best interests of the children involved at the time of enforcement of the contract. Antenuptial contracts may not include provisions governing the per capita payments by the Prairie Island Mdewakanton Dakota Community to children.

Section 2. Requirements of valid antenuptial contracts.

a. Disclosure.

Each party must fully disclose his or her assets to the other party and schedules of each party's assets must be attached to the antenuptial contract.

b. Separate counsel.

If possible, each party should be represented by his or her own attorney.

c. Substantive and procedural fairness.

No antenuptial agreement which is substantively or procedurally unfair either at the time of execution or at the time of enforcement will be valid. Time of execution is the moment of the signing of the contract. Time of enforcement is the moment at which the contract will be activated. The Tribal Courts of the Prairie Island Mdewakanton Dakota will determine the fairness of the contract.

Section 3. Burden of proof.

The burden of proof to prove invalidity of an antenuptial contract is on the person challenging the validity of the contract. He or she must demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that the contract is unfair, or that the circumstances surrounding execution and/or enforcement render the contract unfair.