A prenuptial agreement is a written agreement entered into by two prospective spouses before their marriage which dictates what happens to their finances during and after the marriage, if it ends. Prenuptial agreements are also called premarital agreements or prenups. These are legally binding agreements that are enforceable by a court of law.
It’s important to always have any prenuptial agreement you intend to sign reviewed by a qualified divorce attorney prior to signing! Your attorney can review each provision in the agreement to ensure it fully complies with state laws. Any section of a prenup that violates the law is not enforceable.
But, what about voiding a part of the prenup even though it is legally compliant? Well, that’s a different story. There are very few reasons why a prenuptial agreement, or parts of the agreement, may be voided here in Florida. Those valid reasons include:
- Fraud
- Duress
- Coercion
- Failure to disclose assets
Unless the contesting spouse wants all or part of the agreement voided for one of these four reasons, the request will likely be denied.
What if the terms of the prenup become unfair in the eyes of one spouse since it was signed? For example, if a prenup states the value of marital property at the time of the marriage, but that value changes significantly due to market conditions by the time of the divorce, one spouse may feel that the prenup has become unfair. However, this is not a valid reason to void all or part of a prenuptial agreement in Florida. Just because one spouse doesn’t like the terms they agreed to before marriage doesn’t mean that they don’t have to honor those terms during divorce.
Child custody matters can also not be determined by a prenuptial agreement, so any reference to child custody in a prenup is a violation of law and thus void.
If one spouse does attempt to have all or part of the prenuptial agreement voided due to one of the valid reasons listed above, then proper evidence must be presented to back up that request. The spouse contesting the prenup must prove that fraud, duress, or coercion occurred. If the request is based on lack of full disclosure of financial assets, the spouse that is not contesting the prenup is burdened with proving that they did in fact fully disclose all their assets before the marriage. If a judge finds that any of these situations did occur, they may void all or part of the prenuptial agreement.
The best way to determine if your prenuptial agreement is legal is to hire a competent, experienced divorce attorney. Here in Tampa Bay, there’s no better choice than the team at Caveda Law Firm. We will review your prenup thoroughly and make sure that you’re not responsible for anything signed outside of the confines of Florida state law. Call (813) 463-0800 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation for your prenup challenge case today.