What is the common law enforceability of a marriage agreement between a husband and wife?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from C.M.M. v. D.R.M., 2014 BCSC 2123 (CanLII):
It is well established that courts in this province will consider the common law enforceability of a contract between spouses before applying the legislative criteria: Rick v. Brandsema, 2009 SCC 10 at para. 36. C.’s counsel argues that there are several concerns under this heading that would make it unfair to enforce the marriage agreement now: • The pressure that was placed on C. to sign the agreement by the imminent wedding date and the plans and commitments that had been made in relation to it; • The lack of accurate disclosure of D.’s current assets and liabilities, as well as of his expected inheritance; • The inadequate legal advice that C. received; and • D.’s representations, both prior to the execution of the agreement and in the years following, that he would not rely on the agreement in a manner that was detrimental to her interests.
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