Tag Archive for: Prenuptial Agreement

Age Can Create Unique Divorce Problems

He was in his 70’s when multi-millionaire Martin Zelman of New York wed Lois Zelman. They entered into a prenuptial agreement. Fifteen years later, Martin filed for divorce.

But by then Martin had dementia and the judge decided he wasn’t competent enough to understand what he was seeking.

Martin’s children by another marriage were appointed trustees and after much litigation and several years later they reached a settlement this year with Lois. She gets about ten million dollars.

The lesson here is that in a prenuptial agreement, you should address not only what happens in the event of a divorce, but also other contingencies like death, disability and dementia.

/by James J. Gross

NY Court Throws Out Prenup

Elizabeth Petrakis claimed that her husband, Peter Petrakis, who controls $20 million in real estate, fraudulently induced her to sign a prenuptial agreement four days before the wedding.

Elizabeth said that Peter threatened to call off the wedding if she didn’t sign. Her dad had already paid $40,000 for a reception and she said she felt coerced into signing against her will.

She also told the court that Peter had promised he would tear up the prenup once they had children. They had three. Peter denied that he made any such promise.

The Brooklyn Appellate Court apparently did not believe Peter and they threw out the prenup. The divorce will proceed without it.

The lesson to be learned from this case is sign your prenup long before the wedding if you want it to hold up in court.

/by James J. Gross

Defending the Prenup (Time)

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After full disclosure, the second most important element to fortify your prenup is time.  That is the parties must have adequate time before the wedding to understand, negotiate and consider the agreement they are signing.

If the prenup is presented the day before the wedding, after the invitations have been mailed, the wedding gown paid for, and the banquet hall rented, it could be challenged on the basis of duress.  The challenger might say something like, “I didn’t understand it and I didn’t read it.  I just signed it so the wedding could go on.”

The way to defend a prenup from this challenge is to start negotiating long before the wedding.  Keep drafts and other documents.  Place a clause in the agreement that says the parties have negotiated the terms for a long time before the wedding, each has consulted a lawyer or has had an opportunity to do so, each understands the provisions of the agreement, and neither feels any duress or pressure to sign.

/by James J. Gross