It is common knowledge among Family Law attorneys that the method or methods to invalidate a prenuptial agreement are to show that there was coercion or duress, or the prenuptial agreement is unreasonable, which then turns the analysis of whether there was full and fair financial disclosure. However, in a recent and unprecedented case arising out of a New York appellate court, a prenuptial agreement was overturned based upon a claim for fraud, which caused the challenging spouse to enter into an agreement she would not have otherwise done but for the false representation her husband made before the agreement was signed.
An article, Elizabeth Petrakis, Millionaire’s Wife, Gets Prenup Thrown Out, by Katherine Bindley, which can be found at the attached link, summarizes this recent finding and give some insight into the fraudulent statements her husband made, which Ms. Petrakis claims she relied upon when she signed the prenuptial agreement.
