Were your rights to an inheritance limited by a prenuptial or other agreement between you and your spouse? Did you know that you may be able to invalidate such an agreement if you were not given proper financial disclosures?. Check out this news story about someone in Singapore who got ten times the inheritance after improper financial disclosures.
Prenuptial Agreements that Limit Probate Rights
- A valid prenuptial agreement can limit your rights to a lot of things in West Palm Beach including your right to an inheritance.
- Did you know that includes your right to an elective share?
- These agreements are not always enforced by West Palm Beach probate courts.
- Do you know why?
- Depending on when you entered into the agreement your spouse may have had an obligation to disclose financial records.
Financial Disclosures
- Spouses owe each other a duty of loyalty and candor this includes when it comes to financials.
- You may have entered into what is commonly known as an ante nuptial agreement, which is just a prenuptial agreement, entered into after the marriage.
- These require fair and correct financial disclosures to be valid.
- What happens if your spouse failed to properly disclose certain valuable assets?
- You may be able to have the agreement set aside or not enforced.
- What happens if the agreement was entered into before marriage?
- In this case the courts in West Palm Beach have held that no disclosure may be necessary but that does not mean the agreement will not be set aside for fraud, duress or other legitimate reasons.
- Want to learn more about how proper disclosures can change an inheritance or estate plan?
- Check out this case out of Singapore where a person got ten times the inheritanceafter a waiver was made without proper disclosures.
Coffee Shop Assistant Agrees to $200k Inheritance, Court Awards TWO MILLION instead.
- This was a case out of Singapore’s probate court so the law may be different but the basic principles are the same.
- A young woman worked at a coffee shop even though her father was worth about $13 million dollars.
- The woman had signed a note that said she was willing to take a modest inheritance considering the size of her father’s estate – a mere two hundred thousand dollars.
- The Court in Singapore held that the note was invalid and unenforceable do you know why?
- The woman was not aware of what she was giving up so the note was obtained on unfair grounds.
- Now the woman has been awarded two million dollars which is ten times what she had originally agreed to.
- Did you sign an agreement related to your probate rights or other rights of inheritance and support?
- You may be able to have that agreement set aside in West Palm Beach probate court.
Want to check out the entire case about the woman in Singapore who got ten times her original inheritance?
Check out the entire article by clicking here.