Can I oppose my prenup in court?

Is it possible for you to argue against a prenuptial agreement in court? The short answer: yes.

The longer answer is that your opposition to your contract should be based on certain foundations if you want a court to take it seriously. As per FindLaw, here are some of the top reasons your prenup might not be valid.

Coercion

Contracts should be entered according to each party’s free will. If another party with an interest in — or an advisory capacity over — your prenuptial agreement forced you to sign, the court could have some significant questions about its validity.

Unfairness

While divorce is complex, and while one party does occasionally end up better off than the other, that is usually not a result of grossly unfair premarital agreements. If the contract would put you in grave financial danger while allowing your spouse to prosper, it may not stand up to trial as a valid element of an equitable divorce.

Lies

Another possible issue would be any direct falsification or omissions of information. For example, if your spouse hid stock options and a subpoena of the employer’s human resources department revealed them, the discovery could have a bearing on enforceability.

Rush

The court would probably not hold you responsible for something you did not know you signed. There is a possibility that if you did not have an attorney give you independent advice, there could be a legal issue.

Generally speaking, premarital agreements are similar to many other types of contracts. Contracts should serve the law. Furthermore, all parties should enter into them in good faith and of their own free will.