Can I Prove That My Texas Prenup Is Invalid?

 Posted on September 24, 2024 in Prenuptial Agreements

While all couples are different and some manage to work together in their divorce to create a settlement they can both feel comfortable with, the idea of dividing up assets and financial responsibilities is stressful for anyone. Knowing this, people often sign a prenuptial agreement before they get married to help ease that stress in the hypothetical future situation of getting divorced.

However, some people are pressured or manipulated into signing a prenup that does not represent them and their interests fairly. Fortunately, Texas law has a set of conditions a prenup needs to meet for it to be considered legally valid and binding. If you are concerned that you signed a prenup that does not protect you, speak with an experienced Austin, TX family law attorney for guidance.

Marital Assets in Texas

When a couple gets married, anything they own is divided into two categories:

• Marital assets: Anything either spouse acquired during the marriage is generally considered jointly owned by both spouses.

• Separate assets: Anything either spouse acquired before the marriage or through an inheritance is generally considered to be that spouse’s sole ownership, although this depends on how the asset was used.

What Makes a Texas Prenup Invalid?

Texas follows a community property model for dividing a marital estate in divorce, meaning that everything considered marital property is typically divided equally. In addition to addressing how a couple will address alimony, prenuptial agreements can impact the division of assets because:

• They define which of a couple’s assets are considered marital and which are separate.

• They can include special instructions for things that are less clear-cut, like gifts, inheritance, retirement benefits, and insurance.

Prenups are meant to ensure fair and reasonable protections for both spouses in a divorce. However, certain scenarios can render a prenup invalid, which means spouses could renegotiate the terms of the division of assets during divorce proceedings.

A prenup may not be valid for three common reasons. If one spouse was pressured by the other or their family to sign it without having enough time or resources to review it; if one spouse failed to disclose all his or her assets to the other spouse so it was not signed with complete knowledge of a spouse’s financial picture; or if one spouse was not of sound mind at the time the prenup was signed. This can generally be demonstrated based on the following evidence:

• If it was signed right before the wedding, suggesting that one spouse was pressured to sign it or there would not be a wedding.

• If it was prepared by one spouse’s family lawyer and the other spouse did not have the means to have a lawyer of their own review it, suggesting the interests of the spouse without an attorney may not have been equally represented.

• If one spouse was seriously ill or under the influence of drugs or alcohol when the prenup was signed.

Contact an Austin, TX Prenup Lawyer

If you are concerned that a prenup you were forced to sign does not represent your interests fairly, a Travis County, TX divorce attorney can review it and advise you on how to move forward. At Powers Kerr & Rashidi, PLLC, we are dedicated to helping our clients find fair solutions. Call us at 512-610-6199 to schedule a private consultation.