Muriel LUTGERT, Appellant, v. Raymond L. LUTGERT, Appellee, 338 So. 2d 1111

Summary

Appellant wife and appellee husband just before they were married signed an antenuptial agreement that gave appellant $ 1,000.00 a month alimony and no recovery for attorney fees. After 10 years of marriage appellee sought dissolution of the marriage. The trial court upheld the antenuptial agreement. The court reversed the decision and held that appellant was entitled to avoid the agreement. In reviewing the circumstances of signing the agreement the court found that appellee first presented the agreement while at the jewelry shop buying rings and within 24 hours of the wedding. Appellant raised concerns. An ultimatum was presented and she signed just before the marriage. The court held that the given circumstances, plus the fact that the agreement was disproportionately in favor of appellee, established as a matter of law undue influence and overreaching which impacted appellant's will, and shifted the burden to appellee to show that appellant signed of her own will freely. This, the ...