You asked if Connecticut or other states have a mechanism for determining whether a prenuptial agreement is valid before going forward with a divorce action. You also asked if any state uniformly requires divorcing couples to pay their own attorneys fees.

Connecticut and virtually all other states permit contracting parties to get a court ruling (a declaratory judgment) on their rights under the agreement, including those that will exist in the future. Declaratory judgment laws are intended to give litigants a speedy and inexpensive method of resolving legal disputes and guide the parties in their future conduct with each other (22A Am. Jur. 2d Declaratory Judgments, Sec. 5). Disputes over spousal rights under a prenuptial agreement are appropriate for resolution by declaratory judgment (Gibson v. Gibson, 2004 WL 1965918 (Conn. Super. 2004)).

Ordinarily each divorcing party pays his own attorneys fees. But courts often order the financially more solvent party to pay some or all of the other party's fees. This is intended to give both parties access to adequate legal representation. It can also be used as a sanction against a party who files frivolous motions or intentionally violates court orders.

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