In re Marriage of Bonds
California Supreme Court
5 P.3d 815 (2000)
Sun Bonds (defendant) and Barry Bonds (plaintiff), before marrying in February 1988, signed a premarital agreement providing that neither would be entitled to the other's future earnings or acquisitions; during their subsequent divorce, Sun sought to avoid enforcement. Barry testified Sun had agreed to keep their earnings separate, and Barry's attorney Leonard Brown testified he discussed the agreement with Sun two weeks before signing and told her hiring her own attorney might be beneficial; Sun testified she didn't know if the agreement had been discussed before the meeting at Brown's office and believed it only applied to pre-marriage property, not her future earnings. The trial court ruled for Barry; the court of appeal reversed, and the California Supreme Court granted review specifically on the voluntariness issue.
Whether one spouse's lack of representation by independent counsel when entering into a premarital agreement will, on its own, render the spouse's entry into the agreement involuntary.