If you signed a prenuptial agreement before you got married and you feel like it does not benefit you, you might wonder if you can ask the courts to invalidate or throw out the document instead of enforcing it.
There are certain circumstances in which the courts may agree to not uphold a prenuptial agreement, and determining if your circumstances match any of these conditions can help you settle on a better divorce strategy.
1. You signed due to duress
Perhaps your spouse was able to pressure you into signing a prenuptial agreement because you were already pregnant and scared of giving birth while still unmarried. Maybe there were implied threats involved in the process of convincing you to sign. If you did not sign of your own free will, the courts may consider that when determining whether or not to uphold the document.
2. The agreement is unconscionable
It is possible for two people to knowingly enter into a contract that the courts deem unconscionable. Unethical terms in a prenuptial agreement can be grounds for the court to invalidate it. In most cases, a contract should offer benefits to both parties, if all it does is protect your ex and offers nothing of value to you in return, the courts may agree that it is unconscionable because it only benefits one spouse.
3. The document includes illegal terms
In order for a prenuptial agreement to be enforceable in court, it needs to be a legal and valid contract. When some of the terms included in the prenuptial agreement violate state law, that could be grounds for the invalidation of the entire agreement.
A careful review of your prenuptial agreement and the circumstances at the time of the signing can give you an idea if you can successfully challenge it during a divorce.