The CoOwnership of Real Estate
Case Study:
Alexander and Ann Marie McKenna lived together for five years before they decided to get married. On February , 1997, they entered into a prenuptial agreement. Both parties were represented by legal counsel. Mr. McKenna chose legal counsel for Mrs. McKenna and also paid for her legal counsel.
The agreement provided for the following:
- Both waived any interest in each other’s separate property.
- Ann Marie waived any interest in the marital home (which Alexander owned prior to marriage)
- Ann Marie waived any interest in Alexander’s retirement funds and annual bonuses.
- The maintenance obligation of Alexander would be between $5,000 and $25,000 depending on the length of the marriage.
- Alexander would pay Ann Marie’s reasonable attorneys fees in any divorce action provided that Ann Marie did not contest the prenuptial agreement.
The two were married on February 14, 1997. Ann Marie had a son from a previous marriage.
In December 2011, Alexander filed for divorce and Ann Marie moved to have the prenuptial agreement set aside because she did not know the extent of Alexander’s assets, because she waived substantial marital property rights, and because she was allowed to meet with her lawyer for only a few minutes before signing the prenuptial agreement.
- Discuss the issues that the court will focus on in determining whether the prenuptial agreement is valid. What do you think the court did with the agreement?