6 Critical Reasons Your Prenup May Not Be as Ironclad as You Hope

You told yourself you were doing the smart thing, signing a prenuptial agreement. No, it wasn't romantic. Your future spouse wasn't thrilled. But it was smart because you're a business owner with a lot of assets. You protected yourself and your company.

Now, you just trust the prenup. You feel like divorce is coming, but you don't worry. That paperwork is in place. If your spouse wants to end it, you're ready.

Are you? Is that prenup ironclad, or are there some reasons it may not hold up in court? To be sure, consider these six reasons why prenups are sometimes overturned.

1. You pressured your spouse.

You showed up one day and told your significant other that he or she could sign the prenup or move out that afternoon. You were living together, as a couple, but it was your house. Your future spouse, under duress, signed, the agreement.

2. The wedding happened too soon after you signed.

You waited until a week before the wedding. You had both purchased your wedding attire, you'd rented the hall, and guests had made plans. Some were already in town. Then you asked for the prenup. Your spouse didn't want the financial loss and the embarrassment of canceling the wedding, so he or she signed.

3. You lied.

You hid assets. You told your spouse that your business wasn't worth its real value. You didn't tell him or her about your offshore accounts. Your spouse signed the agreement, but without real knowledge of what signing meant.

4. You added invalid provisions.

Anticipating that you'd have children together, you wrote the prenup so that it said you wouldn't have to pay any child support. The law dictates that prenups cannot alter child support obligations, which get handed out by the court.

5. You never let your spouse read it.

You were in a hurry. You knew he or she wouldn't like what the prenup said. You just threw the papers on the table one day, demanding that he or she sign them immediately. Your spouse asked to read the prenup, but you didn't allow that to happen. Your spouse signed without knowing what it said.

6. You didn't write it down.

You and your spouse agreed on the terms of the prenup, but you never wrote it down. You didn't file it. You just assumed the oral agreement would be enough. Now, you have no record of what it covered or that your spouse actually did agree to the terms.

These are just six reasons why a prenup may be invalid, but they help show how easy it is to make critical mistakes. Be sure your prenup will really hold up before you tie the knot or head to divorce court.

Tags: Prenuptial