Last updated on April 8, 2021
Prenuptial agreements are some of the most important contracts in family law. They no longer represent an “anti-love” contract that immediately dooms a marriage before it starts. Instead, prenuptial agreements are now seen as prudent legal documents that protect each spouse from the pitfalls of the standard divorce process. Having a prenup allows you to address specific concerns that are unique to your relationship and personal life. Without a prenup in place, you could stand to lose more in a divorce.
With that said, prenuptial agreements aren’t perfect. In fact, there are circumstances in which an individual involved in the prenup legally challenges the document on the grounds of illegal or unfair circumstances.
If the contract is simply unfair and unbalanced in total, this is called an “unconscionable” contract. A judge could strike down the prenup if it is deemed that it favors one spouse over the other.
Another common reason for a prenup to be successfully challenged is if one of the spouses was pressured into signing the prenup, or if he or she did not have the time to fully consider the personal and financial weight of the contract.
Then there are the provisions themselves. If fraudulent provisions were inserted into the prenup, or if anything illegal was included in the prenup, then it could be challenged. Similarly, if a spouse lied in the prenup, then parts of the prenup could be eliminated.
Source: FindLaw, “Top 10 Reasons a Premarital Agreement May be Invalid,” Accessed Sept. 13, 2017
