Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Prenuptial Agreements

When a spouse files a motion to set aside a prenuptial agreement, this may mean a divorce case is paused on certain issues until the court makes a decision as to the validity of the agreement. This was an issue in the case Smith-Fullerton v. Fullerton, 5D2024-0855 (Fla. 5th DCA December 6, 2024).

The parties to this divorce case entered a prenuptial agreement which contained a clause stating the parties “agreed not to disclose their financial conditions or the nature and character of each party’s estate and property.” After the wife filed her petition for divorce, the husband filed a response requesting to set aside the prenuptial agreement, claiming the wife was estopped from enforcing the agreement. Simultaneously, the husband requested financial discovery from the wife, and the wife filed a motion for protective order and for declaratory relief, arguing the court needed to rule on the validity of the prenuptial agreement before ordering financial disclosure. The trial court denied the wife’s motion for protective order and ordered her to disclose her financial documents. The wife filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the appellate court.

The appellate court first established “Here, the parties’ Antenuptial Agreement provided that neither party had a duty to disclose financial information. Without first examining the validity of that agreement per the Wife’s motion and request at the hearing, the trial court authorized full financial disclosure and denied the Wife’s request for protective order. As such, the Wife has demonstrated irreparable harm.” The court held “Because the trial court made no determination as to the validity of the Antenuptial Agreement, its order departed from the essential requirements of law. See Carter, 3 So. 3d at 398 (granting petition for writ of certiorari and agreeing the husband ‘should not be compelled to produce the [financial] discovery requested by the wife unless and until the court first determines the validity of the parties’ settlement agreement’).”

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