When important legal documents are made in New York, it is very important to have multiple copies of the paperwork. However, it is also crucial to be open and honest about the status of legal documents, especially if one of those documents is a valid marital contract. In the case of a recent prenuptial agreement dispute out of Brooklyn, a man and his wife are in disagreement regarding the validity of a prenup they signed over a decade ago.
The case revolves around a supposed incident which took place on the couple’s honeymoon. According to the 44-year-old husband, he and his 37-year-old wife decided to enter into a prenuptial agreement (prenup) prior to their marriage. Nonetheless, the pair apparently experienced a whirlwind courtship and were engaged in just a few weeks.
While on their honeymoon, the wife claims the duo ripped-up the prenup and tossed the pieces overboard into the ocean. In a recent deposition, though, the man argues it was never his intention to destroy the agreement. He says he only ripped-up a copy and kept the original. Court documents indicate he held onto the original in case the marriage faltered later on. For her part, the wife claims she was unaware of the continuing existence of the original until her husband presented it to her later on in a moment of rage.
According to court papers, the wife says she was only persuaded to sign the document when the husband claimed he would be cut-off by his own father, if there was no prenup in place. She also accuses her spouse of concealing his sizable stake in a lucrative family business.
The document in question limits alimony to five years, and also constrains the wife’s ability to obtain other marital assets. Since one of the purposes of a prenup is to protect assets and property rights, it is not surprising that there are often disputes regarding a prenup’s validity in the event of divorce. In this case, a Brooklyn judge ruled that the prenup stands because the pair each had their own attorney and because the prenup states no other agreements outside the document shall matter.
Source: The New York Post, “Prenup dramatically torn up on honeymoon is still in effect: judge,” Joshua Saul, Oct. 28, 2014
See the original article here:
Couple tears-up prenup on honeymoon; judge says still valid
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