New bill would change conditions for marital agreements

LANSING – A Senate committee is considering a proposal to protect the parties to premarital and marital agreements from undue pressure or abuse.

The bill would clarify current law to make marital agreements be voidable if they were signed under duress, without proper legal representation for both parties and without adequate financial disclosure, advocates say.

Sen. Sue Shink, D- Northfield Township, said, “It ensures that parties enter into agreements voluntarily and without coercion.”

Shink, the sponsor of the bill, was testifying at a recent Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety Committee hearing.

Under current Michigan law, duress is the threat of illegal conduct, but that definition is too“narrow for premarital agreements, she said.

According to a legislative bill analysis, the bill is a version of laws adopted in 29 other states.

Last December a similar bill passed the Senate but died in the House.

Liisa Speaker, a Lansing lawyer who chairs the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan, told the committee the goal of the bill is to “reduce litigation and provide more certainty to the parties, not only at the time they’re getting married, but also at the time they’re getting divorced.”

Elizabeth Brandorfer, a family law attorney from Grand Rapids, told the committee that Michigan would benefit from clarification of marital agreements. 

Brandsdorfer, who has been practicing family law for 35 years, said, “We believe this statute gives parties to a marriage freedom to contract with the appropriate disclosures and balances that makes good public policy,” 

“Clarity in the law is important, and I think this will contribute to that.” Brandsdorfer said.