Legal Question in Family Law in Connecticut
My mother has been married for 10 years in CT. She signed a prenup stating after her husband's death she could stay in their house as long as she was responsible for paying the maintenance and upkeep. She is now contemplating divorce due to a number a financial factors with her husband's grown children. The husband purchased the house AFTER they were married, and it is in his name. My understanding is that CT law states "property is considered marital property if it was acquired after the marriage".
My question is: If this is considered marital property, is she entitled to 50% of the value of the house in the event of a divorce DESPITE her having signed the premarital agreement? Or would she first need to have the premarital agreement revoked?
Thank you.
1 Answer from Attorneys
I'd have to see what the pre-nup says about property acquired after marriage. Property acquired after the marriage is considered "marital property" in CT, but that doesn't mean Mom automatically gets half. Leaving the pre-nup out of the equation, often property acquired during the marriage is divided equally, but not always. The statute says the court must consider several criteria, such as the length of the marriage, the age, health, education, employability of the parties, their ability to acquire assets in the future and the reasons for the breakdown of the marriage. After acquired assets often get divided equally, but not necessarily
In CT, the statute governing the enforceability of pre-nups requires the judge to make a finding that the agreement was fair at the time it was entered into AND at the time it is sought to be enforced. Factors such as did each party have an attorney review the agreement? How close to the wedding was it signed? Was there full disclosure of assets? are important.
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