A husband sought to enforce a “marital reconciliation or divorce agreement” that had been executed and confirmed by the Court but the wife contended that the agreement was coerced upon her and that upon execution data on the extent of the assets was hidden from her.
The Court accepted the motion and annulled the contract due to a defect in its execution. A person who entered into a contract due to a mistake caused by the other party and it can be assumed that without the mistake the contract would not have been executed, may annual the contract. A person who entered into a contract when the other party took advantage of his distress, mental or physical weakness, or inexperience, and the terms of the contract are unreasonably worse than what is customary, may also annul the contract. A prenuptial or divorce agreement is approved only after the Court is convinced that it was made out of free will and that the parties understand its implications, but the approval does not prevent one of the parties from later contending a defect in its execution. Here, the husband took advantage of the wife who was unemployed, and was financially and emotionally dependent on him, and made her execute the contract without reporting his real assets and in fact radically deprived her of her rights. Therefore, although the contract was approved by the Court, it is clear that the woman did not have free will and did not understand the implications of the agreement, and therefore it is void due to fraud and unconscionability.