Jeremy D. Morley concentrates on International Family Law. The firm works with clients around the world from its New York office, with a global network of local counsel. Mr Morley is the author of "International Family Law Practice", the leading treatise on international family law in the U.S., and "The Hague Abduction Convention", published by the American Bar Association. He is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers and a former law professor.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Pre-Nuptial Agreements: New York Tolls the Statute of Limitations
The New York legislature has passed a law that clears up what had been an enormous problem concerning the enforcement of prenuptial agreements in New York . New Section 250 of the Domestic Relations Law now provides that the three year statute of limitations for commencing an action or asserting a defense that arises from a pre-nuptial or post nuptial agreement is tolled until service of process has been completed in a divorce action or until one of the parties dies. In other words, a party does not have to take any steps to dispute a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement until a divorce or annulment case has been commenced – and even then has three years within which to assert it. (Of course, a litigant should not wait that long but should assert the defense once the case is commenced).