§560:2-213 - Waiver of right to elect and of other rights.

§560:2-213 Waiver of right to elect and of
other rights. (a) The right of election of a surviving spouse or
reciprocal beneficiary and the rights of the surviving spouse or reciprocal
beneficiary to homestead allowance, exempt property, and family allowance, or
any of them, may be waived, wholly or partially, before or after marriage, by a
written contract, agreement, or waiver signed by the surviving spouse or
reciprocal beneficiary.

(b) A surviving spouse's or reciprocal
beneficiary's waiver is not enforceable if the surviving spouse or reciprocal
beneficiary proves that:

(1) The surviving spouse or reciprocal beneficiary
did not execute the waiver voluntarily; or

(2) The waiver was unconscionable when it was
executed and, before execution of the waiver, the surviving spouse or
reciprocal beneficiary:

(A) Was not provided a fair and reasonable
disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the decedent;

(B) Did not voluntarily and expressly waive,
in writing, any right to disclosure of the property or financial obligations of
the decedent beyond the disclosure provided; and

(C) Did not have, or reasonably could not have
had, an adequate knowledge of the property or financial obligations of the
decedent.

(d) Unless it provides to the contrary, a
waiver of "all rights", or equivalent language, in the property or
estate of a present or prospective spouse or reciprocal beneficiary or a
complete property settlement entered into after or in anticipation of
separation or divorce is a waiver of all rights of elective share, homestead
allowance, exempt property, and family allowance by each spouse or reciprocal
beneficiary in the property of the other and a renunciation by each of all
benefits that would otherwise pass to the spouse or reciprocal beneficiary from
the other by intestate succession or by virtue of any will executed before the
waiver or property settlement. [L 1996, c 288, pt of §1; am L 1997, c 383, §19]