If you signed a prenup before you got married, you probably just wanted to protect yourself. You knew well that you may get divorced one day, so you wanted to make sure you agreed to all of the terms of your marriage before signing anything. A prenup allowed you to write those terms with your spouse so that you were both happy and secure.
That’s a great place to begin, but do you have a problem with that prenup? If you do get divorced, is it going to do all that you intended it to do?
A Prenup Can Be Invalid
One thing to remember is that the court can deem a prenup invalid. Even if you signed it, and your spouse signed it, this means that the court may not have to go along with it.
A few reasons yours could be invalid include:
- Lies, deception or a lack of accurate reporting means that the prenup was created fraudulently. Even if it wasn’t done through active fraud, it may just be incomplete.
- You or your spouse did not actually read the prenup prior to signing.
- You decided to draft and sign the prenup far too close to the date on which you got married, meaning you both did not have enough time to really consider it.
- One of you signed the prenup while under some sort of duress.
- The prenup was not written down or was not filed properly. An unofficial document will not stand, nor will a verbal agreement.
- The prenup contains clauses or provisions that are illegal under current state laws.
- The prenup is so significantly biased in favor of one of you that it raises some red flags in court.
When these issues crop up, you can still get divorced, but you may not have the protection that you thought you were going to get from your prenup. Be very sure you understand your legal position and the steps you need to take moving forward.