Opinion ID: 1469026
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Maine's Common Law Regarding Premarital Agreements

Text: [¶ 11] Dick contends that the court should have implied a new legal standard from the 1979 amendment to the Probate Code permitting a spouse, after fair disclosure, to waive by agreement rights of election and rights to certain allowances. 18-A M.R.S.A. § 2-204 (1998). Dick also contends that the court erroneously relied on outdated Maine common law that fails to reflect the status of women in modern society. According to Dick, the court erred in applying a rule requiring that a party enter into a contract intelligently and upon independent legal advice. [¶ 12] The court relied in part on our holding in Rolfe v. Rolfe, 125 Me. 82, 130 A. 877 (1925), a case in which the marriage dissolved by the husband's death and the parties had executed a premarital agreement defining the rights of the surviving spouse. See id., at 82-83, 130 A. at 877. We stated that it was the settled law in Maine that there shall be no fraud or imposition practiced; that full and complete disclosure shall be made, and that adequacy in provision for the spouse shall result; that gross disproportion of such adequacy may invalidate such agreement; that the natural confidence of the relations of the parties shall not be violated; that, where gross disproportion results, fraud will be presumed; and that the burden is upon him who sets up an antenuptial agreement to prove fairness, notice, understanding, and adequacy. Id. at 83, 130 A. at 878. [¶ 13] Since the Rolfe decision, we have stated that, although a defendant in an action to enforce such an agreement bears the burden of proving affirmative defenses of fraud, duress, or intimidation, a presumption of fraud arises when the evidence establishes that the agreement's provisions for the surviving spouse are clearly disproportionate to the [deceased spouse's] wealth. Wilson v. Wilson, 157 Me. 119, 131, 170 A.2d 679, 686 (1961). To overcome the presumption, the representative of the deceased spouse must establish the surviving spouse's full knowledge and understanding ... at the time of execution of all the facts materially affecting her interest, viz.: the extent of his wealth and her rights in his property as his survivor, and how modified by the proposed agreement.... Id. at 131-32, 170 A.2d at 686 (internal quotation marks omitted). [¶ 14] Nearly two decades after our decision in Wilson, the Legislature adopted the following provision of section 2-204 of the Probate Code: The right of election of a surviving spouse and the rights of the surviving spouse to homestead allowance, exempt property and family allowance, or any of them, may be waived, wholly or partially, before or after marriage, by a written contract, agreement or waiver signed by the party waiving after fair disclosure.... 18-A M.R.S.A. § 2-204. After the enactment of this provision, we reviewed a case in which the husband died while the divorce action was pending, and his estate contended that the husband and wife's Agreement Incident to Divorce, purporting to dispose of all the parties' marital and non-marital property, constituted a waiver of the wife's elective share in his estate. Estate of Galluzzo, 615 A.2d 236, 238 (Me.1992). We affirmed the Probate Court's finding that the contract was executory, and stated that the husband had not provided fair disclosure pursuant to section 2-204 because the wife executed the Agreement on the day she received service of the divorce complaint without the advice of independent counsel. Id. at 238. Our interpretation of section 2-204 of the Probate Code therefore comports with our earlier cases holding that the circumstances of execution must be fair. See, e.g., Rolfe, 125 Me. at 83, 130 A. at 878 (requiring a showing of fairness, notice, understanding, and adequacy when the gross disproportion of an agreement triggers a presumption of fraud). [¶ 15] We have acknowledged, by implication, that people may execute enforceable premarital agreements that apply in the event of a divorce. See Foster v. Foster, 609 A.2d 1171, 1172 (Me.1992) (agreement providing rights as widow is inapplicable in the event of a divorce); Estate of Berzinis, 505 A.2d 86 (Me.1986) (agreement defining parties' rights upon divorce inapplicable when wife was widowed); Skelton v. Skelton, 490 A.2d 1204, 1205-06 (Me.1985) (agreement waiving alimony and property claims in the event of divorce inapplicable to the parties' second divorce following remarriage). [¶ 16] Here, the premarital agreement all but eliminates Hoag's rights to receive a share of the marital property and to recover any amount of spousal support. Pursuant to the agreement, she would only recover $6000 in settlement of all claims, and as the party bringing the action, she would be responsible for all litigation costs. The agreement was presented to Hoag on the day of her wedding, thus depriving her of any opportunity to obtain advice from independent legal counsel regarding the document's terms. See Galluzzo, 615 A.2d at 238 (recognizing a lack of independent counsel as a factor for determining whether the signor's spouse offered fair disclosure pursuant to 18-A M.R.S.A. § 2-204); see also In re Marriage of Norris, 51 Or.App. 43, 624 P.2d 636, 638-40 (1981) (holding agreement unenforceable when the husband presented a premarital agreement during the trip to the wedding without the wife's opportunity to seek legal counsel and without informing her of his financial holdings); Bauer v. Bauer, 1 Or. App. 504, 464 P.2d 710, 711-12 (1970) (holding agreement unenforceable when the husband presented it the day the parties left to get married out of town, failed to disclose his assets, and failed to allow sufficient time for her to consult a lawyer independently). Without the advice of counsel or time for consideration of the document, she could not fully know and understand the rights she relinquished by signing the agreement. See Friedlander v. Friedlander, 80 Wash.2d 293, 494 P.2d 208, 214 (1972) (holding agreement unenforceable when wife lacked independent advice of counsel, did not freely and voluntarily sign the agreement with knowledge of the husband's property and worth, and was not fully aware of her rights). [2] The court's factual findings regarding the circumstances of execution support its conclusion that the premarital agreement is unenforceable. The entry is: Judgment affirmed.