Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Prenuptial Agreements

A prenuptial agreement entered under the laws of another state can be enforced in a Florida court. In a recent appellate case, a Florida court considered a prenuptial agreement entered in New York and whether or not the alimony award in the contract was meant to be paid after the former husband unexpectedly passed away. The case is Sirgutz v. Sirgutz, 4D20-1875 (Fla. 4th DCA April 28, 2021).

The parties entered a prenuptial agreement in New York which in pertinent part awarded the former wife $150,000 in alimony if the marriage lasted more than 20 years. The agreement also included a waiver of the right to make a claim against the other spouse’s estate, a provision that obligated the former husband to establish a trust for the former wife’s benefit, a clause that made the terms of the agreement binding on the parties’ heirs, and a choice of law provision deeming New York law as the authority for enforcement and interpretation of the contract. The former wife also claimed a modification agreement was entered by the parties which nullified the former wife’s waiver of the ability to claim against the former husband’s estate and which cancelled the former husband’s obligation to establish a trust. This alleged modification agreement was not notarized.

The former husband eventually filed for divorce in Florida. Because there only jurisdiction over the marriage itself, the Florida court only entered a judgment of divorce and did not decide any other issues such as alimony and equitable distribution. A week after the divorce was finalized, the former husband unfortunately passed away. The former wife sued the former husband’s estate, seeking the alimony payment due under the prenuptial agreement, and alleging the modification agreement voided the provisions of the agreement that waived entitlement to the former husband’s estate. She moved for summary judgment, while the former husband’s estate cross-claimed for summary judgment. The trial court ruled in favor of the former husband’s estate, and the former wife appealed.

Reviewing the former wife’s claim that the alimony provision survived the former husband’s death, the appellate court disagreed, holding “Here, the parties’ Antenuptial Agreement provided that ‘the husband shall pay to the wife, for her support and maintenance, $75,000 per year (in twelve equal monthly installments) for a period of two years after the date of entry of such judgment or until the wife’s earlier death or remarriage.’ The Antenuptial Agreement did not speak to the effect of the former husband’s death. It expressly provided the former wife had an independent source of income. Under New York law, this was sufficient to establish the presumption that the obligation did not survive the former husband’s death.”

Next turning to the modification agreement, the appellate court found it was unenforceable under New York law because it was not notarized. The court held “Even if enforceable, the Modification Agreement only evinced an intent for the former wife to have a larger election of the former husband’s estate, if the parties were still married at the time of his death. The Modification Agreement did not refer to the former wife’s lump sum alimony, nor modify the lump sum alimony to provide for it to survive the former husband’s death. It refers only to the general waiver provisions in the Antenuptial Agreement and the provision regarding a trust for the former wife, if the parties were still married and residing together at the time of the former husband’s death.”

If you need help enforcing or interpreting a prenuptial agreement in Florida, schedule a consultation with a Miami family law attorney.