Recently on the blog we talked about the advantages of a prenuptial agreement. These agreements really can alleviate some of the concerns one may have before entering into divorce by spelling out financial responsibilities and dictating how assets will be distributed in the event of divorce.
However, if you enter into one of these agreements and later find your marriage failing, then you might be reassessing your prenuptial agreement with a more critical eye. If it looks like your prenuptial agreement isn’t as favorable as you once thought, then you might want to consider if you can attack its validity from a legal point-of-view.
Analyzing the enforceability of your prenuptial agreement
Prenuptial agreements must be created in a certain way and under certain circumstances in order to be deemed valid. So, if you want to escape the terms of your prenuptial agreement, then you should consider whether you can attack it on any of the following premises.
- Agreement was verbal: To be enforceable, prenuptial agreements generally must be written down and signed.
- No time to consider the terms: You should have an adequate amount of time to read and consider the gravity of the terms of the agreement before signing off on them. If you were given the agreement the day of the marriage then it’s likely that you didn’t have enough time to give it the amount of time it deserved.
- Coercion: Prenuptial agreements are essentially contracts, which means that in order to be legal the parties to it have to have voluntarily entered into it. If you were pressured into signing your prenuptial agreement, then you have an argument to make that it’s not enforceable.
- Missing or misleading information: If after signing your prenuptial agreement you find out that your spouse lied or mislead you about their assets and/or debts, then you can probably argue that the agreement should be deemed invalid.
Don’t overlook any aspect of your high-asset divorce
There’s a lot at stake in a high-asset divorce. If you don’t properly address every aspect of your case, then you could wind up facing significant financial losses that can affect you for years to come. If you hope to avoid that type of outcome, then it might be time for you to discuss your case with a divorce attorney who will know how to fight for you and your best interests.
