Signing a prenuptial agreement can be an important way of protecting yourself and your interests in advance from the threats posed by divorce. Unfortunately, a prenup can also, under some circumstances, hold you back.
If you are facing divorce, you may find that the agreement you signed in the lead-up to your marriage now strikes you as unfair. Can you convince the court to rule it is invalid?
Prenuptial agreement basics
Before we answer that question, let’s take a quick look at the basics of prenups.
A prenuptial agreement is a contract between two people who are preparing to be married. The agreement becomes effective once they marry. The main purpose of a prenuptial agreement is to protect certain property from the property division process should the marriage later end in divorce. Prenups can also be important for protecting the inheritance of children from a previous relationship.
To be valid under Texas law, a prenuptial agreement must be written and signed by both parties. Texas law also spells out the subjects that can be covered under a prenuptial agreement. These can include provisions about alimony, the parties’ property rights in the event of divorce or after one spouse dies, and a few other matters.
Ruling a prenup invalid
Generally speaking, it’s not easy to convince a court to invalidate a contract if the agreement meets all the required formalities and both parties knew what they were doing when they signed it.
That said, Texas law specifies certain reasons a prenuptial agreement can be declared invalid. For instance, if you can show that you did not sign the agreement voluntarily, or that your spouse not disclose their property and financial obligations to you before you signed, you may be able to convince the court to invalidate the agreement. A court may also invalidate the agreement if it determines the contract was grossly unfair at the time it was signed.