Massachusetts Slip Opinions - Massachusetts Appellate Cases - Prenuptial & Antenuptial Agreements

Austin v. Austin: Divorce and Separation, Antenuptial agreement. Complaint for divorce filed in the Barnstable Division of the Probate and Family Court Department on May 31, 2001.

Biliouris v. Biliouris - The antenuptial agreement was found to be enforceable because it was fair and resaonable when it was execute, was not under coerciion or duress, and was not unconcionable when the parties sought to enforcement the agreement.

Dematteo v. Dematteo: (2002) Leading Massachusetts Case on Prenuptial Agreements.

Halperson v. Halperson In a divorce action, the validity of the antenuptial agreement was bifurcated from the divorce action. After a trial on the antenuptial agreement, it was found invalid, and the husband appealed the interlocutory ruling; however, there were remaining issues on the divorce action. The matter was remanded to the trial court because the interlocutory ruling was not a final judgment on all the issues in the divorce.

Knox v. Remick: 371 Mass. 433 (1976). If a judge finds that a parties' separation agreement "was not a product of fraud or coercion," fair and reasonable at the time of entry of the judgment nisi, and the parties agreed to the finality of their agreement's provision regarding spousal support, then the separation agreement should be specifically enforced 'absent countervailing equities.' An example of ‘countervailing equities’ may be that a spouse is or will become a public charge or where a party has not complied with a provision of the separation agreement.

Korff v. Korff The parties signed an antenuptial agreement on March 29, 1992, two days before the wedding. The antenuptial agreement provided that alimony was to be determined annually. The calculation of alimony was based on the husband's gross income multiplied by a percentage based on the length of the marriage. In 2002, a complaint for divorce was filed, and validity of the agreement was not questioned. The judge, however, modified the alimony provision as stated in the antenuptial agreement because the judge found that the husband had no financial credibility. Instead, the judge ordered an amount of alimony not consistent with the terms of the antenuptial agreement. The husband appealed. The appellate court vacated the alimony provision of the divorce judgment because the trial judge cannot change the alimony provisions in a valid antenuptial agreement.

Osborne v. Osborne 384 Mass. 591 (1981) – First case holding that prenuptial agreements may be enforced, provided that there is a full disclosure and that they are fair and resonable at the time that enforcement is sought.

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