Wife loses battle to get prenuptial agreement thrown out

It is not uncommon for divorces to become nasty. This often occurs when couples have issues regarding various divorce matters such as property division and spousal support. These disputes are what people are trying to avoid when they decide to get a prenuptial agreement and solve these problems before they arise. However, sometimes, when a divorce does happen, one or both spouses may find that they don’t actually agree with what was outlined in the agreement.

In New York, it was recently ruled that a couple’s prenuptial agreement will be upheld despite the wife’s efforts to get it thrown out. The couple, who married in 2007, both agreed that if a divorce occurred, the husband would provide his former spouse and their children with their own apartment and leave his children trust funds, but they all would have to leave the apartment when the children were adults, and his wife would not get alimony. It was alleged that the wife claimed she was pressured to sign the agreement by her husband and that he did not disclose his full income. Despite her accusations, the court felt that it was still not a valid reason to throw out the prenuptial agreement.

When people decide to get a prenuptial agreement, it is assumed that it will be upheld should they find that the marriage isn’t working and decide to get divorced. What happened between this couple can happen to anyone.  When a prenuptial agreement is drafted, it is important to follow the law to avoid having it thrown out. No one wants to have such an agreement drafted only to find out later that it is not valid and will be thrown out. Not only will this mean time was wasted, but it also means spouses may have to divide property evenly or that one could be awarded more in the divorce than the other.

Many spouses will find that there is a need to protect themselves with a prenuptial agreement before they get married. There could be a lot to lose if they divorce their spouse without an agreement in place. Anyone who is getting married or divorced and has questions about prenuptial agreements can contact an attorney.

Source: New York Daily News, “Hedge fund manager wins right to deny wife of alimony, kick her out of lavish NYC home,” Barbara Ross, Jan. 28, 2016