When you meet the love of your life and decide to marry, you hope to spend the rest of your life together. Unfortunately, some marriages never last a lifetime. When marital differences escalate to the point of divorce, one of the subjects the couple must address is the division of marital property. This explains why more and more couples sign prenuptial agreements before tying the knot. Done right, a prenup can separate marital property from personal property in the event of divorce.
But an improperly executed prenup can cause problems. In fact, there are instances when the court may strike out part of or the entire prenup. Here are instances when this may happen:
If the prenuptial agreement is fraudulent
A prenup is a legal agreement. This means that it cannot be fraudulent. Of course, a fraudulent prenup does not refer to a “fake” document that has been forged by one party. Rather it refers to one party knowingly failing to declare some of their assets or debts at the time of signing the prenup. If you have evidence that your spouse withheld or undervalued their assets when creating the document, you may have grounds for petitioning the court to strike out the document.
If it contains unconscionable provisions
While there is no standard definition for unconscionability, it generally refers to any agreement that is beyond unfair. In the context of prenups, unconscionability comes into the picture when the court believes the prenup is severely one-sided or has unethical demands.
The court will declare a prenup unconscionable if its provisions are likely to leave one spouse impoverished and dependent on the government for support in the event of a divorce.
Getting legal help to create a valid document can protect each party’s rights and interests in the event of a divorce.
