If I Was Pressured Into Signing a Prenup, Are My Hands Tied? | IL

 Posted on September 19, 2024 in Family Law

There is a lot of confusion about what a prenuptial agreement does. This legal document is intended to help spouses protect their assets and have open and honest communication about their finances and expectations. If a couple with a valid prenup later gets a divorce, it can help make the process go much smoother and faster, because a lot of the issues that need to be decided in divorce proceedings have already been agreed upon and finalized.

Some people mistakenly think that signing one spells doom for a couple before they are even married. People generally prefer not to think about divorce when they are still engaged to be wed, and having a prenup means there is some focus on the possibility that divorce could happen. Another common misconception is that once you have signed a prenup, your financial future is out of your hands. In truth, a prenup needs to meet several conditions before it can be considered valid and legally binding. If you were pressured into signing a prenup that you worry goes against your interests, have no fear. A dedicated DuPage County, IL prenuptial agreement attorney can review your prenup, explain the implications of it, and advise you whether it is valid.

What Makes a Prenup Invalid?

Three main factors indicate whether a prenup is invalid. Any of these could show that someone signed it against their will, under pressure or manipulation, or without enough information to make an informed decision. These three factors are:

• Influence of drugs or alcohol: If drugs or alcohol kept you from being of sound mind when you signed your prenup, it could be considered an involuntary signing. If there are photos, videos, or eyewitnesses who can describe what your mental state was at the time you signed it, these can help your claims.

• Suspicious timing: If your spouse’s family brought you the prenup to sign right before your wedding, not leaving you enough time to fully consider it, you might be able to argue that you signed it against your will out of fear that not signing would mean the wedding was off. This claim can be easily corroborated because prenups are dated when they are signed. A prenup dated on the same day or right before the wedding date could indicate that at least one of the spouses was pressured into signing it.

• Means and legal representation: If one of the spouses comes from a wealthy family that has its own attorney and the other is of average socioeconomic status, the wealthy family might use their attorney to draw up the prenup. However, the lawyer’s job is to protect the best interests of that family, not the person hoping to marry into it. The spouse pressured into signing the prenup could argue that she lacked sufficient resources to analyze the prenup and was taken advantage of by being pressured into signing it.

• Unconscionability: Even if none of the above factors are present, a prenup may still be invalidated if the results of the prenup, were it enforced, would be grossly unfair. A classically cited example of this is if one spouse would be so poor after the divorce that he or she would be reliant on public welfare to get by. In cases of unconscionability, prenups that are otherwise valid could be thrown out.

Schedule a Free Consultation with a Wheaton, IL Prenuptial Agreement Attorney

If you were pushed to sign a prenup but now regret it, speak with a dedicated DuPage County, IL divorce lawyer about whether it can be declared invalid. At Davi Law Group, we pride ourselves on providing our clients with all the information they need so they can make decisions based on facts rather than emotions. Call us at 630-657-5052 so we can review your case.