This is a written agreement entered before a marriage that usually deals with what happens to the parties’ assets and income in the event of divorce or death.   For instance, it can specify what a surviving spouse gets on the death of the other spouse.   It can increase or decrease inheritance rights. To be enforceable each party should have separate legal counsel, each party should make full disclosure of all income, assets and other material facts, and no duress should be involved. This is also called a pre-nuptial agreement.