Blige v. Blige

656 S.E.2d 822 (Ga. 2008)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

H and W had a child together in 1994 and married in 2000. They did not live together before the marriage. The day before the wedding, H took W to an office building to meet with an attorney he had hired for her. The attorney handed her a fully drafted antenuptial agreement, read through it with her, and asked her to sign it, which she did. H signed the antenuptial agreement later, and the parties were married the following day as scheduled. The agreement provided that H would retain as his sole and separate property 19.5 acres of land in Bryan County that he had previously purchased 'together with any house or structure which may be situated upon said property.' There was no house or structure on the property when the parties married. H had hidden away $150,000 in cash that he planned to use to build a home there after the wedding. H never told W about the $150,000 in cash, and she had no knowledge of the money from any other source. In 2005, W filed a complaint for divorce and H sought enforcement of the antenuptial agreement. The court found that H failed to make a fair and clear disclosure of his income, assets, and liabilities before the execution of the antenuptial agreement. The trial court entered an order setting aside the antenuptial agreement, and a jury trial on property division ensued. The house cost $280,000 to build and was worth about $400,000. The jury awarded W $160,000 for her equitable share of the home. H appealed.