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Your spouse can’t force you to sign a prenup

On Behalf of | Mar 1, 2019 | Divorce

You have to sign a prenup because you want to sign a prenup. It’s really that simple. If you were forced to do it, the prenuptial agreement is not going to hold up in court.

Typically, the way that one person “forces” the other to sign is by having them do it under duress. They present some outside factor that causes them to agree to sign when it may be the last thing that they really want. They just hope that they’ll never get divorced and they’ll never need it.

While duress can be hard to prove, one thing to consider is the timing. How close to the wedding did you sign? Was it so close that you felt forced into it? Did your spouse surprise you by asking about a prenup at the last minute?

For instance, imagine that a young woman is marrying a man after finding out that she is pregnant. She invites her entire family. They pay for the hall, the church, the flowers, the food and the drinks. They can’t get most of this money back.

Two days before the wedding, the groom says he wants a prenup or he’s going to leave her.

Imagine her situation. Now she’s facing the possibility of raising a child alone. She will lose at least some of the money she paid for the wedding, if not all of it. She’ll also be embarrassed to call off the wedding with friends and family in town for the big day. She may feel she has no choice but to sign.

If you’re getting divorced and you think you signed a prenup that should not stand due to duress, fraud, dishonesty, improper filing, illegal provisions or any other factors, make sure you know what legal steps to take.

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