A divorce can sometimes turn into an epic legal battle, especially a divorce that deals with high assets. It’s during times like this that a prenuptial agreement can often be the determining factor regarding a couple’s assets. However, for one well-to-do socialite, the prenuptial agreement that she signed will prevent her from obtaining a more generous divorce settlement. An appeals court has just ruled that Alexandra Lumiere Gottlieb must accept the terms of the prenuptial agreement that she signed before marrying her husband, hedge fund czar Jacob Gottlieb back in 2006. This means that she will receive a total of only $1.6 million dollars as a divorce settlement, even though her ex-husband makes $54 million dollars a year.
The couple was married in 2006 and has two children. Jacob filed for divorce in 2012. At that time, Gottlieb tried to enforce the terms of the prenuptial agreement that Lumiere signed in 2006 before they were married. Lumiere countersued in an attempt to overturn the terms of the prenup.
Lumiere claimed that Jacob tried to force her to sign the agreement before they were married. She was pregnant with their first child at the time and stated to the court that she was in “a diminished emotional and physical state.” She said that she eventually signed the form so she would not have a child out of wedlock.
However, the appeals court didn’t agree with her. They stated that Lumiere should have realized that she was getting married to a millionaire tightwad. They went on to say that Jacob was open with his future wife and told her that he wouldn’t be charitable to her and that she would have to accept the terms of the prenuptial agreement.
This story highlights the fact that prenuptial agreements can be a double-edged sword. However, any Minnesota resident who is considering developing a prenuptial agreement may want to speak to a family law attorney in order to understand the complexities of this type of document.
Source: New York Post, “Wife stuck with prenup and ‘only’ $1.6M of hubby’s $54M salary,” Julia Marsh, Jan. 29, 2016