Can a Prenuptial Be Overruled?
A prenuptial agreement is an agreement between two people about to be married as to what will happen in the case that they either divorce or pass away. A prenuptial agreement may be overturned or overruled, either partially or completely, for several reasons.
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Courts
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A prenuptial agreement is generally authorized and then executed by a court. It is during the authorization period that certain terms may either be stricken or overruled from the rest of the prenuptial agreement. In general, because of court oversight, a prenuptial agreement is more difficult to overrule once executed, however certain conditions may be required.
Fraud or Duress
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One reason that legal counsel is highly recommended in the preparation of a prenuptial is protection from later accusations. In general, any contract, including prenuptial agreements, must be invalidated by a court if one of the parties was either fooled or forced into signing the agreement by either fraud or duress.
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Fairness
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Another important factor in determining whether all, or part, of a prenuptial agreement will be overruled is fairness. A marriage that has lasted a long time might result in the situation of the spouses being drastically different than when they originally signed the agreement. For instance, a supported spouse has gone from earning $50,000 per year to earning $2 million per year, and doesn't want to share.
Material Facts
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In addition to basic fairness, a spouse that hides funds or assets, may cause the prenuptial agreement to be amended or overruled. The reason for this is that knowing such information would have changed the drafting and construction of the prenuptial agreement, such as knowing that your spouse is sitting on a hidden fortune of millions.
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References
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