Friday, March 28, 2008

Prenuptial Agreements - Modifying for Changed Circumstances

Divorce lawyer Blog asked Are Prenuptial Agreements Affected by Changed Circumstances?:

"Clients must therefore understand that contracts for goods or services are different than contracts between married people, or between those who plan to be married. In New Jersey, the New Jersey Supreme Court in the case known as Lepis V. Lepis, created the quintessential loophole, enabling potentially endless modifications of family support provisions, regardless of whether they were ordered by the Court or stipulated to by the parties. The only requirement for this review is a significant and relevant change of circumstances."
Notice this case speaks of court ordered changes. Spouse can agree to changes. The statutory law allow for that sort of change. In Indiana, the statute is IC 31-11-3-7 and reads as follows:
After marriage, a premarital agreement may be amended or revoked only by a written agreement signed by the parties. The amended agreement or the revocation is enforceable without consideration.
Since Indiana's prenuptial statute is the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, I suspect that same language exists in the majority of states.

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