Establishes public policy that no antenuptial agreement shall become binding for 30 days during which period either party thereto may withdraw upon notice to other

BILL NUMBER:S2269

Title of bill

An act to amend the general obligations law and the domestic relations law, in relation to establishing the public policy of the state that no antenuptial agreement become binding for thirty days during which period either party may withdraw upon written notice to the other and requiring such agreements to be in writing and acknowledged

Purpose or general idea of bill

The purpose of this bill is to avoid the circumstance wherein one party to an antenuptial agreement is pressured to sign such agreement, often at the last minute, often on the eve of the wedding, thereby placing said party in a significantly inferior position relative to the agreement.

Summary of specific provisions

Amends the General Obligations Law §3-303 and adds the particulars that are required for an antenuptial agreement to be binding. Those conditions include the retirement, in §3-303 (4), that there is a thirty day period during which no antenuptial agreement shall be binding, valid or enforceable. During this thirty day period, the agreement is incipient and executory only, and either party to the agreement may unilaterally withdraw from the agreement by written notice to the other party. Antenuptial agreements must also contain a notice of the rights granted by these new provisions and of the requirements for an agreement to be valid and binding. The Domestic Relations Law is also amended, Section 236, Subdivision 3 of Part B so, as to include a reference to General Obligations Law §3-303, which specifically covers the above mentioned requirements for an antenuptial agreement to be valid.

Justification

As spelled out in the legislative findings and declaration of intent, important rights are often surrendered when one party is placed in the position that, if she or he refuses to sign an antenuptial agreement, the wedding may be canceled. Often these agreements are presented on the eve of matrimony, and with out-of-town guests having arrived and other extreme pressures present, she or he may be in no position to enter into negotiations for a more palatable and fair agreement. The thirty day period in which either party may unilaterally revoke the agreement places the parties on a more even footing, and the pressure of signing such an agreement at the last minute is removed. This thirty day period may force would be spouses to present any proposed agreement well before the marriage, thus assuring fairness -

or letting the party presented with the agreement see what her or his intended spouse is really all about.

Fiscal implications

None to New York State

Effective date

Ninety days after it shall have become a law and it shall only apply prospectively to agreements executed on or after the effective date of this act.