A Legacy of Justice. A History of Success. Proud to Serve as Clarksville's Attorneys Since 1929

Issues that can invalidate a prenuptial agreement

There is a prevailing thought that prenuptial agreements are "anti-love" and that couples simply shouldn't consider them. This is mostly born out of a past era that simply didn't consider a prenuptial agreement to be an important, or particularly romantic, document. However, times have changed. Prenuptial agreements are very important and used quite often.

And yet there are still some prevailing notions about prenups that simply aren't true. One of these notions is the idea that prenuptial agreements can't be legally challenged -- as if the second the ink dries on your signature, the prenup is invincible to a court of law.

To the contrary, the prenuptial agreement can be challenged, and there are many circumstances that can lead to such a legal challenged, such as:

  • Time and/or pressure. Time is a major factor in the signing of a prenuptial agreement. The spouses must have been given enough time to fully consider the ramifications of the prenup, otherwise it may be stricken down. Also, if a spouse was pressured to sign by the other spouse, the contract could be invalid.
  • Procedural obedience and the information provided. A prenup must be valid -- in other words, the spouses must have followed the proper steps and complied with the law in order to fulfill the prenup. If one spouse provided false information, then the document could be susceptible to a legal challenge.
  • Lack of independent counsel. This may seem obvious, but when you and your spouse get a prenup, make sure each of you retains your own lawyer.

Source: FindLaw, "Top 10 Reasons a Premarital Agreement May be Invalid," Accessed Sept. 25, 2015