California Pre/Post Marital Agreements: October 2000 Summary

Legal Developments

In Re Marriage of Bonds; In re Marriage of Pendleton and Fireman

On August 21, 2000, the California Supreme Court issued decisions in In Re Marriage of Bonds and In re Marriage of Pendleton and Fireman. In Bonds, the Court upheld the premarital agreement and rejected the Court of Appeals holding that where one party is unrepresented the voluntariness of the agreement is subject to strict scrutiny. In Pendleton and Fireman, the Court concluded that waivers of spousal support are not per se unenforceable, although the Court left for another day the permissible parameters of such waivers.

In our April 1998 update, we added optional provisions waiving or limiting spousal support based on the initial Pendleton and Fireman decision. This update changes some of the spousal support language in light of both Supreme Court decisions. Commentary has also been modified to account for both decisions. In our August 1999 update, in response to the initial Bonds decision, we added additional options and document language for agreements signed by an unrepresented party. Because these new provisions serve as safeguards, we are keeping them in the program.