Question
Fred and Ginger are getting divorced. Before they got married, they signed a premarital agreement.The premarital agreement states that if Fred and Ginger ever get
Fred and Ginger are getting divorced. Before they got married, they signed a premarital agreement.The premarital agreement states that if Fred and Ginger ever get divorced, Ginger does not get any portion of Fred's marital earnings from his employment.
Fred is paid more than $1 million a year, and he has been investing a large portion of his earnings each year since they have been married. Fred's investments are now worth over $25 million. All of the funds were earned and invested since Fred and Ginger got married. Ginger wants to contest the validity of the premarital agreement so she can get half of the $25 million.
You are a new associate attorney who works for Jacobs Law Office. You work for Mr. Jacobs, owner and senior attorney. Mr. Jacobs met with Ginger and performed some of his own research, and has gathered the following facts:
-At the time of the marriage, Fred was an analyst at an investment bank, and Ginger was a paralegal at an established law firm. Their salaries were approximately the same back then.
-Fred had presented the premarital agreement to Ginger 3 months prior to the wedding. Ginger, at the time, said she would look at it, but was so busy planning the wedding that she forgot about it.
-Fred reminded her to look at the premarital agreement about a week before the wedding and said for the first time that he will not marry her unless she signs the agreement.
-Fred offered to help her find her own attorney to advise her. But Ginger refused, because she is a trained paralegal and felt that she understood everything she needed to know to review the agreement.
-3 days before the wedding, Fred and Ginger's family started to arrive from all over the world to attend the wedding.
-Ginger reviewed the prenuptial agreement 2 days before the wedding. She saw the clause about not receiving any part of his earnings if they ever get divorced and told Fred that she didn't want to sign unless he changes the clause.
-Fred said that this is "standard" language, but that he would be willing to have his lawyer update the language to state that he doesn't get any of her earnings, either.
-Ginger agreed, and a clause was added that included the reciprocal language that Ginger would also keep any earnings from her employment while they are married.
-Shortly after they got married, Fred got a new job where he began earning $1 million a year, which is about 5 times more than Ginger's income at the time. Ginger's income has only increased about 10% since they got married.
PROMPT: Mr. Jacobs (your boss) has not yet decided to take the case to represent Ginger. He only takes cases that he is pretty sure he can win. He wants you to analyze the facts and provide him a memo where you answer the following question: Would Ginger be likely to win a case in court to invalidate the premarital agreement? He wants you to explain the applicable law and provide Ginger's potential arguments and Fred's potential counterarguments.
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