Legal Question in Family Law in New York

Re: Pre nuptial Agreements

A fun question! 'Choice of law' questions are among my favorites.

Marital Law is different from most other areas of law. Typically in a contract or other case, the parties can contract the body of law that will control the agreement if it comes before a judge. For example, if you buy a new bicycle in NY, you can make a contract that, if the case goes to court, the court will be asked to use the law of the nation of 'Congo', or Belgium, or China, South Africa, or Alaska;(you get the idea);

then the court will use the identified law to decide the civil case.

Matrimonial Law is different in that the state considers itself to be a party to the 'contract' and so requires some reason why your choice of law makes sense. In the above list (Alaska, NY, NH, and PA), you have significant contacts with each state.

In my opinion, a court will accept your choice of law for any of those states, but may question if you ask for CA or TX (states with which you have no contact).

The upshot is: make sure the contract includes a 'choice of law' section and you will be able to make the choice yourselves. Otherwise, the state in which the divorce is filed may choose to invoke its own law.

Best luck on a successful marriage and you are welcome to a consultation for no fee.