Love is a beautiful thing. And when you meet the love of your life and decide to marry, you hope to spend the rest of your lives happy together. Unfortunately, some marriages end in divorce.
This explains why more and more couples sign prenuptial agreements before making things formal. A prenup, at the very basic, is a binding contract that soon-to-marry couples sign to separate personal property from marital property in the event of a divorce. For the court to recognize and enforce a prenup, however, it must be valid.
Here are two scenarios when the court can throw your prenuptial agreement out:
When is it deemed fraudulent
A prenup might be about you and your soon-to-be spouse. However, it remains a legal document. Thus, it cannot be founded on fraud. In simple terms, both parties must make full disclosures of what they own (and owe) at the time of signing the prenup. If either party intentionally lies about their assets and debts, the resulting document will be voided.
If you can show that your spouse failed to disclose some assets, then you can have a strong ground for challenging and invalidating the prenup.
When it contains unconscionable provisions
A prenup is supposed to protect each party’s assets and interests in the event of a divorce. For this reason, a prenup cannot be egregiously one-sided. If the document contains totally unfair or ridiculous provisions, then the court will not enforce it. For instance, a prenup that requires one spouse to do certain things during the marriage (like maintaining a certain weight) in return for their share of the property should they divorce will not be enforced by the court.
A properly written prenuptial agreement can give you peace of mind knowing that your hard-earned assets will not be a subject of division should the marriage collapse. Find out how sound legal advice can help you get things right when drafting your prenup.