When a Prenuptial agreement becomes invalid
In modern society marriage and divorce are considered to be normal things and they occur very often. Most people view marriage as an emotional and physical union, but it is also a financial union and all the things involving finances work better if they are regulated by appropriate documents. A prenuptial agreement is a document signed by both parties that regulates the financial relationships between them in case of a divorce. Of course some people consider it to be a bad sign, but it is only a useful document that can help regulating financial aspects during hard times. Of course at the marriage day no one wants to think about even a possibility of breaking up, but still a one third of all first marriages and a half of second and third ones end with a divorce. It is always wiser to discuss and put on paper the entire thing concerning property, because if a couple can not agree who gets what, the property will be divided by the state.
There are many reasons why a prenuptial agreement can become invalid, most of these reasons are based at various mistakes or violations made before or at the signing phase. The simplest reason why a prenuptial agreement can become invalid is if it was signed after the wedding. Also an agreement can become invalid if one of the spouses was pressured by the other, if the agreement wasn’t read by one of the parties and if one of the parties had no time to think the agreement over.
Information provided during signing from both parties is also very important. If one of the parties had provided false information or even incomplete information, the agreement will be considered non valid. The agreements regulate only financial aspects of the relationship and if things like child support obligations are regulated by the prenuptial agreement it will be considered invalid. In some cases the court can still keep the agreement valid but remove the illegal parts.
In some rare cases agreement can be cancelled by the court due to unconscionability, it means if an agreement is unfair and in case of divorce all the property goes only to one party the court can found it invalid. It doesn’t mean that you can’t agree that your spouse gets all of the money and you get nothing, but if the agreement is very unfair, the court will view it as invalid.
A fairly negotiated prenuptial agreement can provides reassurance to the wealthier spouse as to the extent of the financial impact of a divorce and at the same time it gives the less wealthy spouse some guarantee of his or her entitlement to a Property distribution. So once again don’t be afraid to sign a prenuptial agreement, it is just and insurance policy and it will keep you from rash decisions made during a nervous divorce. And remember that an agreement must be only in written form, any agreements that were not written down and signed will be definitely considered invalid.
January 29 2011 | Motor Vehicle Accident FAQ | Comments Off