Marriage of Porter

A husband (defendant) and wife (plaintiff) were married in April 2003. In early December 2002, prior to the parties’ engagement, the husband stated he would have his attorneys prepare a prenuptial agreement but did not discuss specifics. On December 24, 2002, without any additional discussion, the husband brought the wife to the bank to sign the prenuptial agreement before a notary. The parties were at the bank for approximately five minutes, during which the husband directed the wife to sign the agreement. The wife did not understand the agreement’s terms, did not have an opportunity to read the agreement or discuss it with an attorney prior to signing, and had never seen the attached list of the husband’s assets. Further, the wife was German, English was her second language, and she was unfamiliar with the American divorce process. The husband told the wife a prenuptial agreement was commonly signed by people intending to marry and led her to believe it was insignificant. The parties were engaged after executing the prenuptial agreement. In November 2011, the wife filed for divorce and sought to have the prenuptial agreement declared unenforceable, arguing she would never have signed the prenuptial agreement if she had understood it waived her rights to spousal support and property distribution upon divorce. The trial court ruled the prenuptial agreement was unenforceable, and the husband appealed.