Bedrick v. Bedrick
Supreme Court of Connecticut
17 A.3d 17 (Conn. 2011)
Deborah Bedrick (plaintiff) filed for divorce from Bruce Bedrick (defendant). During the marriage, the couple had signed a postnuptial agreement giving Deborah only a $75,000 cash settlement upon divorce; neither spouse had a college degree, and both worked at a car-wash business, with Deborah taking extra work to supplement their income. By the time of the divorce hearing, both were 57, and their combined marital assets exceeded $900,000. The trial court found the couple's economic circumstances had changed dramatically since signing the agreement and that enforcing it would be unfair and inequitable, so it granted the divorce but refused to enforce the postnuptial agreement. Bruce appealed.
Whether a postnuptial agreement will be enforced in a divorce proceeding when it does not comply with contract principles, was unfair or inequitable when executed, or is unconscionable at the time of dissolution.