German Court Bans One-Sided Prenuptial Agreements

Germany's Federal Court of Justice ruled Wednesday that notorized prenuptial agreements that seriously disadvantage one party in a marriage can be deemed invalid. The judges stated that while, in principle, a contract may state that one of the partners has renounced their right to receive alimony, if the agreement is one-sided it would be morally unacceptable and could therefore be challenged. The court also ruled that a woman is free to contest the contract ín instances of imbalance where her partner's income rises dramatically during the marriage because, for example, she was home caring for children.