Finkelstein v. Finkelstein

CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 16, 2012
Docket30,327
StatusUnpublished

This text of Finkelstein v. Finkelstein (Finkelstein v. Finkelstein) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Finkelstein v. Finkelstein, (N.M. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

This memorandum opinion was not selected for publication in the New Mexico Reports. Please see Rule 12-405 NMRA for restrictions on the citation of unpublished memorandum opinions. Please also note that this electronic memorandum opinion may contain computer-generated errors or other deviations from the official paper version filed by the Court of Appeals and does not include the filing date.

1 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

2 HAROLD FINKELSTEIN,

3 Petitioner-Appellant,

4 v. NO. 30,327

5 ANITA KAY FINKELSTEIN 6 k/n/a ANITA KAY McNEER,

7 Respondent-Appellee.

8 APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF BERNALILLO COUNTY 9 Elizabeth E. Whitefield, District Judge

10 L. Helen Bennett, P.C. 11 L. Helen Bennett 12 Albuquerque, NM

13 Armand T. Carian 14 Albuquerque, NM

15 for Appellant

16 Kraft & Hunter, LLP 17 Richard L. Kraft 18 Roswell, NM

19 for Appellee

20 MEMORANDUM OPINION

21 FRY, Judge. 1 This appeal concerns the validity and enforceability of a prenuptial agreement

2 that was executed in Georgia. After initiating divorce proceedings against his wife in

3 New Mexico, Harold Finkelstein (Husband) sought to enforce the terms of a

4 prenuptial agreement (Agreement) executed by him and Anita Kay Finkelstein (Wife)

5 prior to their 1994 wedding in Georgia. Husband appeals the district court’s decision

6 to set aside the Agreement based on the court’s determination that circumstances had

7 changed since the Agreement was executed so as to render its enforcement unfair and

8 unreasonable. Applying Georgia law, we hold that the district court erred in setting

9 aside the Agreement on this basis, and we therefore reverse and remand for further

10 proceedings consistent with this Opinion.

11 BACKGROUND

12 Husband and Wife were married in June 1994 in Georgia. Shortly before their

13 marriage, they executed the Agreement after consulting with their respective lawyers.

14 The Agreement provided that its validity and enforceability were to be assessed under

15 the law of Georgia. In the event of the parties’ divorce, the Agreement specifically

16 provided that: (1) the parties’ assets jointly acquired during marriage would be

17 subject to equitable division, (2) neither party would receive alimony or separate

18 maintenance, and (3) the separate property of each party would remain “their

19 respective sole and separate properties and shall not be subject to any claim for

2 1 equitable division of property, spousal support, or alimony.” The Agreement also

2 included a “mutual release” provision stating that each party waived “any and all

3 claims and rights . . . which he or she may acquire in the separately owned property

4 of the other by reason of the[] marriage.” Attached to the Agreement were exhibits

5 listing the parties’ respective assets and liabilities, which indicated that Husband and

6 Wife had assets totaling $900,381 and $37,000, respectively, excluding their

7 expectancy interests in inheritances at the time of their marriage.

8 After their wedding, Husband and Wife resided in Georgia for three years and

9 then moved to Capitan, New Mexico. In 2007, Husband initiated divorce proceedings

10 against Wife in New Mexico. At the time of their separation, Husband was sixty-eight

11 years old and Wife was sixty-four years old. During the divorce proceedings,

12 Husband sought to enforce the terms of the Agreement. After a hearing, the district

13 court issued a letter decision declining to enforce the Agreement. The court then

14 entered a final order that included findings of fact and conclusions of law consistent

15 with the letter decision. The court determined that circumstances had changed since

16 the Agreement was executed so as to render its enforcement unfair and unreasonable.

17 The district court then characterized and divided the parties’ assets pursuant to New

18 Mexico law. The district court’s decision to set aside the Agreement forms the basis

19 of Husband’s appeal.

3 1 DISCUSSION

2 The sole issue on appeal is whether the district court erred in refusing to enforce

3 the Agreement. As noted earlier, the Agreement was executed in Georgia and

4 included a provision stating that its validity and enforceability were to be governed

5 by Georgia law in the event of the parties’ divorce. The district court stated that it

6 would apply Georgia law in the proceedings below, a decision that neither party

7 challenges on appeal. We therefore apply Georgia law in our review of the district

8 court’s decision to set aside the Agreement.

9 Under Georgia law, three criteria are considered in determining the

10 enforceability of a prenuptial agreement: (1) whether the agreement was “obtained

11 through fraud, duress or mistake, or through misrepresentation or nondisclosure of

12 material facts,” (2) whether the agreement is unconscionable, and (3) whether “facts

13 and circumstances [have] changed since the agreement was executed, so as to make

14 its enforcement unfair and unreasonable.” Scherer v. Scherer, 292 S.E.2d 662, 666

15 (Ga. 1982). In this case, the Agreement included express language directing a court

16 to apply the Scherer factors in the event of the parties’ divorce.

17 [The parties] acknowledge that they have been informed that the law in 18 the State of Georgia governing the enforceability of antenuptial 19 agreements is that such agreements are not given carte-blanche 20 enforcement, but, in the event of the parties’ divorce, the trial judge will 21 consider the following: (a) whether the Agreement was obtained through 22 fraud, duress, or mistake, or through misrepresentation or nondisclosure

4 1 of material facts; (b) whether the Agreement is unconscionable; and (c) 2 whether the facts and circumstances have changed since the Agreement 3 was signed, so as to make its enforcement unfair and unreasonable.

4 The district court determined that neither the first nor the second Scherer factors were

5 present in this case. However, it found that the third Scherer factor applied to the

6 parties’ divorce in that circumstances had changed since the Agreement was executed

7 so as to render its enforcement unfair and unreasonable.

8 The district court’s order initially indicated that it considered the following to

9 be changed circumstances: “[the] ages of the parties, the length of marriage, the

10 disparity of the parties[’] assets and the almost non-existence of a community estate.”

11 We note that the court made further specific findings regarding the non-existence of

12 a community estate, many of which were related to Husband’s management of his

13 assets and his business throughout the parties’ marriage. In addition, the district court

14 cited actions taken by the parties during their marriage that it believed showed that

15 Husband and Wife “worked and managed . . . [H]usband’s assets” throughout the

16 marriage rather than “their [community] assets.” Although the district court noted that

17 these were “among many other factors” that it considered, we decline to speculate as

18 to what other factors may have constituted changed circumstances that the court may

19 have relied upon to support its holding.

5 1 On appeal, Husband contends that the district court’s application of the third

2 Scherer factor to invalidate the Agreement was improper.

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Bluebook (online)
Finkelstein v. Finkelstein, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/finkelstein-v-finkelstein-nmctapp-2012.