A prenuptial agreement can be a great way to protect yourself and your assets prior to entering into a marriage. At the time you negotiate the agreement, you may feel secure in its terms. By the time divorce comes around, though, assuming that it does, you may feel differently.
This issue comes up regularly. One party feels slighted by the agreement given the current state of the marriage and the reasons for divorce. The question then becomes whether anything can be done to escape the terms of the agreement. The answer is a qualified “yes.”
Ways to invalidate a prenuptial agreement
There are ways that you can attack a prenuptial agreement in an attempt to have it found unenforceable. Here are some of those ways:
- Coercion: If you were pressured or threatened in some way that forced you to sign the agreement, then it’s likely that the agreement can be struck down.
- Inadequate time: To be valid, you have to have known and understood what you signed. This means having ample time to consider the terms of the agreement. If you were given the agreement the day of your marriage, then you probably didn’t have adequate time to consider it before signing off on it.
- Misrepresentations and falsities: Prenuptial agreements are supposed to be transparent and based on an accurate perception of each spouse’s assets and liabilities. If your spouse lied about debts or kept assets from you, then you may be able to have the agreement deemed unenforceable.
- Unfairness: Sometimes prenuptial agreements are so one-sided that they’re considered unjustly unfair. In these circumstances, a court will find the agreement unenforceable.
These are just a few of the arguments that you can make to try to have a prenuptial agreement struck down. If you want to learn more about what you can do to protect your interests in these matters, then we encourage you to continue to research your legal options.