Articles Posted in Prenuptial Agreement as Estate Planning Tool

In contrast to what many people think, the best estate planning considers all 

aspects of your life instead of only the end. The estate planning process requires thinking about what is important to you as well as your expectations for loved ones.

Prenuptial agreements, which a person enters into before marriage, guard those you love as well as create a groundwork for transparency and trust. While some people think prenuptial agreements “kill” the romance in a relationship, these agreements often actually act to strengthen. This article reviews some of the most common advantages for estates that people realize by creating prenuptial agreements.

In the recent case of Eskra v. Grace, a person filed a petition attempting to be named as personal representative of her deceased husband’s estate. The trial court denied her petition based on a premarital agreement waiving her interest in her deceased husband’s separate property. The court named the man’s parents as the estate’s co-administrators.

The Court’s Holding

The court held that the man was entitled to introduce evidence in support of her claim that she and her deceased husband mistakenly believed the premarital agreement only applied in case of divorce instead of after the man’s death. On remand, the trial court determined that the error was a unilateral mistake on the wife’s part and that the wife had no entitlement to rescission. The court expressly found that insufficient evidence existed that the husband either encouraged or fostered the wife’s incorrect impression.