Also known as: marital settlement agreements · MSA · divorce settlement agreement
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
A contractual agreement that sets out divorcing spouses' rights and responsibilities regarding property, alimony, custody, visitation, and child support. The agreement is typically incorporated into the divorce decree and becomes enforceable by contempt or other remedies. Courts may decline to enforce the agreement if it is unconscionable or was procured by fraud, duress, or lack of full financial disclosure.
Maurice Marshall and Mariam Mansour negotiated a marital settlement agreement during their divorce. Maurice received nearly all marital assets while Mariam, who had no independent income, received only a small lump sum. Mariam later proved that Maurice had concealed significant accounts at the time of signing. The court set the agreement aside because it was unfair and Mariam lacked full knowledge of the finances.
Mason McCarthy and Melanie Morris included an arbitration clause in their marital settlement agreement covering all disputes arising from the marriage. After the divorce, Mason sought to unwind a prior transfer of business interests. The court compelled arbitration of the property dispute but retained jurisdiction over any request to alter marital status.
Sun and Barry met in Montreal in the summer of 1987 and maintained a relationship during ensuing months through telephone contacts. In October 1987, at Barry’s invitation, Sun visited him for 10 days at his home in Phoenix, Arizona. In November 1987, Sun moved to Phoenix to take up residence with Barry and, one week later, the two became engaged to be married. In January 1988, they decided to marry before the commencement of professional baseball’s spring training. On February 5, 1988, in Phoenix, the parties entered into a written premarital agreement in which each party waived any interest in the earnings and acquisitions of the other party during marriage. That same day, they flew to Las Vegas, and were married the following day. Each of the parties then was 23 years of age. Barry, who had attended college for three years and who had begun his career in professional baseball in 1985, had a contract to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates. His annual salary at the time of the marriage ceremony was approximately $106,000. Sun had emigrated to Canada from Sweden in 1985, had worked as a waitress and bartender, and had undertaken some training as a cosmetologist, having expressed an interest in embarking upon a career as a makeup artist for celebrity clients. Although her native language was Swedish, she had used both French and English in her employment, education, and personal relationships when she lived in Canada. She was unemployed at the time she entered into the premarital agreement. Barry petitioned for legal separation on May 27, 1994, in California, the parties then being California residents. Sun requested custody of the parties’ two children, then three and four years of age. In addition, she sought child and spousal support, attorney fees, and a determination of property rights. The petition was amended to request dissolution, and the court bifurcated the trial proceedings, first adjudicating the issue of the validity of the premarital agreement and then reaching the remaining issues involving application of the agreement to the property held by the parties and the determination of spousal and child support.
View caseA court may decline to enforce the agreement if it finds the terms unconscionable after reviewing the parties' economic circumstances. The court may then require a revised agreement or enter its own orders for property division and support.
No. An arbitrator may decide property and financial disputes arising from the marriage but lacks authority to grant or deny an annulment or otherwise alter marital status, which remains reserved for the court.
No. Revocation of such designations upon divorce occurs by operation of statute, not by the settlement agreement itself, unless the agreement expressly preserves the designations.
…at page 114 (stating that the Uniform Act “does not create a confidential relationship between the parties to a premarital agreement”). : The trial court determined that the parties did not stand in a confidential relationship. In re Marriage of Bonds Case information - Court: Supreme Court of…