Agreements Flashcards
What is the requirement for all prenuptial agreements entered into after October 1, 2007.
UPAA was enacted as of 10/1/2007 and requires that all prenuptial agreements be IN WRITING.
What is the difference between a prenuptial agreement and post nuptial agreement?
A prenuptial agreement sets forth spousal obligations and rights prior to marriage; and
a postnuptial agreement defines and distributes what already exists.
What impact does the doctrine of parens patriae have on children’s issues in prenuptial agreement?
Children’s issues can always changed and therefore cannot be determined in a prenuptial agreement.
Are prenuptial agreements that address custody and child support issues conclusive?
No, children’s issues are always subject to review by court to assure child best interest considered.
Can a prenuptial agreement deal with rights upon death?
Yes, allows parties to waive rights or interests in the event of divorce and or death.
A prenuptial agreement provides for term of 5 years of alimony, but it does not include a specific waiver for modification of that term. Can party move to modify the duration ?
YES - THERE MUST BE A SPECIFIC WAIVER OF MODIFIFCATION OF ALIMONY WHICH MIGHT RISE IN THE FUTURE
What may parties waive in a prenuptial agreement?
- Rights to alimony after divorce IF waiver is specific
- Right to modify alimony if waiver is express
- Rights to ED
Can a prenuptial agreement include general waiver of rights be interpreted to include waiver of alimony?
No, a general waiver of rights is not enough. To waive alimony, the waiver must be clear and specific.
Is a general waiver of ED sufficient in a prenup
Hahamovitch said YES - a general waiver of ED is sufficient to waive claim to enhancement of nonmarital property as a result of marital efforts
What are death rights that can be waived in a prenup?
- Elective share
- Homestead
- Intestate succession
- Family Allowance
- Preference in appointment of personal rep
What is the result of waiving homestead rights in a prenuptial agreement?
For purposes of constitutional restriction on devise of homestead, waiving spouse is deemed to have died before the decedent
What rights cannot be waived in a prenuptial agreement?
- Temporary support.
- Temporary attorney fees incurred through FJ
- Child support, child custody and timesharing.
- Pension rights unless requirements of ERISA met:
-spouse consents to election of waiver in writing
-writing designates a nonspouse beneficiary or expressly
permits designation by participant spouse without any
requirement of further consent of his / her spouse
-writing acknowledges consent to waiver is witnessed by
plan admin or notary
-writing is made within applicable election period
What is the exception to the prohibition on waiving temp fees in a prenup?
Can include a prevailing party clause for seeking to enforce or prevent a breach of the prenup (Lashkajani)
What consideration is required in a prenuptial agreement?
Only the marriage itself. If the marriage does not occur, the prenuptial agreement is not valid.
Under FL law, a prenup may be set aside for what two reasons?
- Direct method
- Indirect Method
What is the direct method of setting aside a prenuptial agreement?
“Direct Method STEP 1”- Casto
(1) It was entered into under fraud, deceit, duress, coercion, misrepresentation or overreaching. The court evaluates the circumstances at the time of signing to determine whether the consent of the challenging party was voluntary.”
Under the direct method, who has the burden of proof to prove fraud, deceit, duress, coercion, misrepresentation or overreaching
The challenging party.
What are four examples of overreaching?
- party takes advantage of close confidential and trusting fiduciary like relationship and exerts emotional pressure to sign
- dominant party who acts in bad faith by misrepresenting impact of agreement and other party relies on inducements to sign
- W had agreement drawn up and gave W all assets and left H with insufficient funds to support himself and H wasn’t represented
- When dominant party is the grossly disproportionate beneficiary of the transaction there is a presumption of undue influence
What are examples of when overreaching will not be found?
When the party had no lawyer.
When is coercion or duress found?
When a party coerces or intimidates another to sign prenup then agreement is not voluntary.
Can duress be established where the agreement was drafted 3 days before the wedding and executed 1 day before the wedding, W had been given only 1 day to seek her own attorney to make an independent evaluation of the agreement absent any financial disclosure, and she had to either sign the agreement or cancel the wedding
Yes - duress found. Hjortass, 2d DCA 1995
Is duress found if threat to expose future husband’s s tax violations so he would sign prenuptial agreement.
Yes, that would not be considered voluntary.
Wife received agreement 2 weeks before wedding, Husband told Wife about proposed terms long before the agreement was prepared, Husband told Wife that before they would get married she would have to sign prenuptial agreement, and there was testimony that even if the parties did not marry as a result of Wife’s refusal to sign agreement Husband would have continued relationship. Can Wife claim duress/coercion?
No duress Waton, 4th DCA 2004)
Will threatening to not get married on its own constitute coercion?
No.
Will a claim of emotional strain at the time of signing the agreement constitute a claim of duress
No.
When is a prenup set aside for fraud or misrepresentation?
a) The intentional concealment or misrepresentation of a party’s financial status prior to the execution of a prenuptial agreement constitutes fraud on the other party (Del Vechhio, Fla. 1962).
b) When a party to an agreement is prejudiced by the misrepresentation or fraud, he or she may attack the validity of the agreement when the other party seeks to enforce it.
c) The affirmative defense is that the agreement was procured by fraud, that the challenging spouse reasonably relied on the misrepresentation or fraudulent act and suffered prejudice so that it would be inequitable to enforce the agreement.
Husband’s misrepresentation of his income to the Wife - is this sufficient to set aside prenup?
YES Baker, 4th DCA 1981).
Husband’s threat to inform child of Wife’s affair or child from a previous marriage–is this sufficient to set aside prenup?
Yes
How can a spouse set aside a prenup under the indirect method?
The challenging spouse must establish that the agreement makes an unfair or unreasonable provision for that spouse, given the circumstances of the parties.
Once a spouse can prove that the agreement makes an unfair or unreasonable provision for that spouse, given the circumstances of the parties, what presumption arises?
A presumption arises that there was either concealment by the defending spouse or a presumed lack of knowledge by the challenging spouse of the defending spouse’s finances at the time the agreement was reached
Once a spouse can prove that the agreement makes an unfair or unreasonable provision for that spouse and the burden shifts to the defending spouse, what must they prove assuming the Prenuptial Agreement was entered before October 1, 20-7 (pre UPAA)?
a) Defending spouse made a full, frank financial disclosure relative to the value of the marital property and the income of the parties;
or
b) The challenging spouse has a general and approximate knowledge of the character and extent of the party’s assets and income.
What is the test with respect to the adequacy of the challenging spouse’s knowledge?
Look at what the challenging spouse knew at the time of the agreement and whether the challenging spouse is prejudiced by lack of information.
In determining whether the agreement is fair under an indirect challenge to prenup, the court should consider:
a) The parties relative situations, including ages, health, education, financial status and experience.
b) Whether the provisions made in the agreement would enable both parties to maintain a standard of living consistent with that established during the marriage.
c) Whether the provisions for the less affluent spouse is disproportionate to the means of the more affluent spouse.
d) Compare the provisions to what each party would get without the agreement.
e) Examine property each brought into the marriage.
What is the general premise of full & frank disclosure
a) Actual form and manner of disclosure is not significant so long as the party provides their financial net worth and income.
b) The disclosure need only be full and fair, not minutely detailed or exact.
What are defenses to enforcement of prenups
- Abandonment and Rescission where one party acts inconsistent with the existence of the agreement and the other party acquiesces in the inconsistent conduct (i.e. tearing up agreement with intent to destroy).
- Reformation appropriate where there has been a mutual mistake in the way the instrument was drawn which does not accurately express the true intention or agreement of the parties.
- Acceptance of the Benefits a person may not retain the benefits of a settlement while attacking its validity. However, where the person is entitled to at least the amount accepted, he/she is not stopped from claiming a greater amount.
What principles apply to interpretation of an prenup
- When language of agreement is subject to more than one reasonable interpretation, Court must use the rules of contract construction to advocate a certain interpretation or application.
- Words of a contract are to be given their plain and simple meaning, unless the context of a contract indicates that an unusual meaning was intended.
- Where a contract is ambiguous, it should be interpreted against the interests of the party having drafted it.
How should court handle ambiguity in a prenup
- Court cannot ignore overall intent of the agreement and should interpret any ambiguity so that it does not ignore the clear operative clauses of the agreement
Are whereas clauses in a prenup binding?
a) Prefatory recitations contained in the WHEREAS clauses are not binding, operative provisions to an otherwise unambiguous contract.
b) Operative clauses prevail over the recital clauses in the event of a discrepancy.