Can I Challenge My Wisconsin Prenuptial Agreement?

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If you are in the divorce process and your spouse is attempting to enforce a prenuptial agreement, there may be a way to challenge the agreement in whole or in part. However, in many cases, this will be an uphill battle—there are a limited number of grounds on which to challenge a prenup.

What is a Prenup?

A prenuptial agreement is a contract signed by two people before marriage. A prenup instructs a court on how to divide the assets and debts of the marriage upon the dissolution thereof.

Wisconsin is a community property state. Therefore, a court will presume that property acquired during the course of a marriage at the time of divorce is to be divided equally. However, a prenup is a method to opt out of the community property regime.

People enter into prenups for many reasons. Some have children from a prior marriage who they would prefer to receive such assets in the event of a divorce. Others own businesses or carry large amounts of debt that they wish to keep separate.

Grounds to Contest a Prenup

Wisconsin law states that a prenup will not be enforceable where “the terms of the agreement are inequitable as to either party.” The law also provides that the court will “presume any such agreement to be equitable as to both parties.”

This means that the party contesting the agreement will have to overcome the presumption that the agreement is fair and prove that it is unfair.

There are other grounds for challenging a prenuptial agreement that may be available in your case. These include:

• The prenup concerns child custody or child support. A court will not enforce an agreement on child custody or support. A court will likely not toss out the entire agreement, but it will ignore these parts of the contract;
• The agreement must be in writing and must be signed by both parties;
• The agreement must have been signed “in contemplation of marriage”;
• The agreement is invalid because one spouse forced the other to sign it;
• The prenup is “unconscionable” or grossly favors one spouse; and
• Either party was not forthcoming with a full disclosure of his or her assets and liability.

Contact a Milwaukee, WI, Divorce Attorney

These grounds often require sophisticated legal arguments that are best made by attorneys familiar with Wisconsin case law. Our firm has the required experience to represent a divorcing spouse in the most complicated property division cases.

Whether you are looking to establish or contest a prenuptial agreement, you can contact the accomplished Milwaukee prenuptial agreement lawyers at Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown, LLP at 414-271-1440 to schedule your first meeting today.