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Prenuptial Agreements · Virginia
The whole agreement stands
on one honest exchange.
Every clause in a prenup, every protection you are counting on, rests on the same foundation: both of you knew what the other had when you signed. Get the disclosure right and the agreement is hard to attack. Skip it, and you may have signed a very expensive piece of paper.
First call is a conversation, not a commitment. · By Corrie Sirkin, Esq.
The Short Answer
Financial disclosure means each of you gives the other a fair and reasonable picture of what you own, what you owe, and what you earn, before signing. Under Virginia Code § 20-151, a prenup can be attacked if it was unconscionable when signed and made without that disclosure. Disclosure is not a formality. It is the load bearing wall of the agreement.
How It Works
Why disclosure decides whether the prenup survives.
Here is the honest picture: when a prenup gets challenged years later, the fight is almost never about what the agreement says. It is about what the spouses knew when they signed it.
The legal standard, in plain English
Virginia Code § 20-151(A) sets out when a premarital agreement is not enforceable. A challenger must prove either that they did not sign voluntarily, or that the agreement was unconscionable when it was executed and, before signing, they were not given fair and reasonable disclosure of the other party's property and financial obligations, did not voluntarily waive disclosure in writing, and did not otherwise have adequate knowledge of those finances. Read that closely and the lesson is clear: disclosure is the shield. An agreement supported by honest, documented disclosure takes the strongest attack off the table before it starts.
What fair and reasonable disclosure looks like
The statute does not demand a forensic audit. It demands honesty with enough detail that the other person knew what they were agreeing to. In practice, we build a disclosure schedule attached to the agreement itself: assets with approximate values, debts with balances, income, and any expected inheritances or interests worth knowing about. Account statements, a recent tax return, and a stated value for anything hard to price, like a business. Both spouses sign off on having received and reviewed it, and the schedules become exhibits to the agreement. Years later, nobody has to remember what was shared. The document shows it.
The statute also allows a written waiver of disclosure. We treat that option with caution. A waiver can be valid, but an agreement that rests on "I chose not to look" is simply easier to attack than one that rests on "here is everything, in writing." If full disclosure is possible, full disclosure is the answer.
What hiding something actually costs
People underdisclose for predictable reasons: embarrassment about debt, fear that a real number will scare a partner off, the instinct to keep a business private. Every one of those instincts points the wrong way. An asset left off the schedule does not stay protected. It becomes the crowbar that opens the entire agreement. The spouse who finds it years later does not just attack that one item. They argue the whole prenup was built on concealment, and now every clause you were counting on is in play. The painful disclosure conversation before the wedding costs a weekend. The concealment fight after a divorce filing costs years.
The standardFair and reasonable disclosure of property and financial obligations before signing, under Va. Code § 20-151(A).
The riskAn agreement that was unconscionable at signing and made without disclosure, a written waiver, or adequate knowledge can be held unenforceable.
The practiceDisclosure schedules attached as exhibits: assets, debts, income, and expected inheritances, with values, acknowledged by both spouses in writing.
The payoffDocumented disclosure removes the most common attack on a prenup before it can ever be made.
The Statute, Plainly
Virginia Code § 20-151(A) makes a premarital agreement vulnerable when it was not signed voluntarily, or when it was unconscionable at execution and the challenging spouse had no fair and reasonable disclosure, no written waiver of disclosure, and no adequate knowledge of the other's finances. Honest disclosure, documented in the agreement, closes that door.
Va. Code §§ 20-149, 20-151(A) · verified as of June 2026
What Goes in the Exchange
Six things that belong on the disclosure schedule.
The rule of thumb is simple: if you would be upset to learn your spouse hid it, put yours on the list.
Every Debt
Student loans, credit cards, mortgages, business loans, and tax liabilities, with current balances.
What You OweIncome
Salary, bonuses, distributions, rental income, and side income, usually backed by a recent tax return.
What You EarnBusiness Interests
Ownership stakes with a stated or appraised value. The hardest item to price and the costliest one to shade.
Stated HonestlyExpected Inheritances
Family money or trust interests you reasonably expect. Surprising a spouse with a fortune later invites a challenge.
Known ExpectationsSigned Acknowledgments
Both spouses confirm in the agreement that they received, reviewed, and understood the other's disclosure.
Proof for LaterThe Practical Side
What makes disclosure bulletproof, and what poisons it.
Disclosure problems are almost never about complexity. They are about candor and paperwork.
+ Helps your case
- Disclosure schedules attached to the agreement as exhibits
- Approximate values for everything, stated in good faith
- A recent tax return and account statements backing the numbers
- Signed acknowledgments that each side received and reviewed it
- Updating the schedule if signing is delayed and the numbers move
− Hurts your case
- Leaving an account, debt, or business interest off the list
- Lowballing the value of a business or property
- A disclosure waiver used to avoid an awkward conversation
- Verbal disclosure with nothing attached to the agreement
- Numbers so stale they no longer describe reality at signing
Corrie Sirkin, Esq.
Founding Partner
Attorney Insight
What I tell clients before the exchange.
"Disclose like the agreement will be read aloud in a courtroom in fifteen years. Because the bad ones are."
Corrie's honest counsel: the embarrassing number is the one you must share.
The item people want to hide is always the one that matters: the credit card balance, the business that is worth more than they have admitted, the inheritance they have not mentioned. Share it anyway. Your partner agreeing to terms with full knowledge is what makes those terms permanent. And keep the proof boring and complete: schedules attached, values stated, acknowledgments signed. When a challenge comes a decade later, you do not want to be reconstructing what was said over dinner. You want to hand the court an exhibit.
More on Prenuptial Agreements
Related parts of a Virginia prenup.
01
Premarital Assets
Read more → 02Business Interests
Read more → 03Inheritances & Gifts
Read more → 04Debt Protection
Read more → 05Spousal Support Terms
Read more → 06Children From a Prior Marriage
Read more → 07Postnuptial Agreements
Read more → 08Full Financial Disclosure
You are here 09Independent Review
Read more → 10Updating the Agreement
Read more →Questions People Actually Ask
Plain answers about financial disclosure.
These are the questions we hear most about the disclosure exchange. If you have a different one, we are happy to answer it directly.
Have a specific question?
Call 571.260.0999 or send us a message.
What does financial disclosure mean for a Virginia prenup?
It means each future spouse gives the other a fair and reasonable picture of their property and financial obligations before signing: assets, debts, income, and significant expectations like inheritances. Under Va. Code § 20-151(A), the absence of that disclosure is half of the strongest attack on a prenup, paired with a claim that the agreement was unconscionable when signed.
What happens if my spouse hid an asset before we signed?
It can put the entire agreement at risk, not just the hidden item. A spouse who proves the agreement was unconscionable at signing and that they had no fair disclosure, no written waiver, and no adequate knowledge of the finances can ask the court to hold the agreement unenforceable. Concealment is the most common reason prenups fail. If you have discovered hidden assets, bring the documents to a consultation.
Do we need exact appraisals for everything?
No. The standard is fair and reasonable disclosure, not a forensic audit. Good faith approximate values, backed by statements and a recent tax return, are the normal practice. The exception is anything hard to price, like a business, where a stated or appraised value is worth the effort because that is the number most likely to be fought over later.
Can we just waive disclosure and skip the exchange?
The statute allows a voluntary written waiver of disclosure beyond what was provided. We rarely recommend relying on one. An agreement supported by actual documented disclosure is simply harder to attack than one built on a waiver. If the goal is an agreement that holds for decades, the afternoon spent exchanging schedules is the cheapest insurance available.
When You Are Ready
Lay it all on the table. That is what makes it hold.
We will walk both of you through the exchange: what to gather, how to document it, and how to attach it so the agreement stands for decades. Three offices across Northern Virginia, one phone number.