Criteria for Challenge to Prenuptial Agreement Not Met
The First Department determined Family Court properly denied plaintiff’s request to extend the time for challenging a prenuptial agreement. The court explained the analytical criteria for such a challenge:
New York has a long-standing “strong public policy favoring individuals ordering and deciding their own interests through contractual arrangements” … . It is axiomatic that a duly executed prenuptial agreement is presumed to be valid and controlling unless and until the party challenging it meets his or her very high burden to set it aside … . However, in many instances, “agreements addressing matrimonial issues have been subjected to limitations and scrutiny beyond that afforded contracts in general” … . Although “there is a heavy presumption that a deliberately prepared and executed written instrument manifests the true intention of the parties” …, an agreement between prospective spouses may be invalidated if the party challenging the agreement demonstrates that it was the product of fraud, duress, or other inequitable conduct … . Nevertheless, such results remain the exception rather than the rule. The burden of producing evidence of such fraud, duress or overreaching is on the party asserting the invalidity of the agreement … . Anonymous v Anonymous, 2014 NY Slip Op 08766, 1st Dept 12-16-14