Family8/30/2026

Court Voids Prenuptial Agreement That Transferred Two Apartments to Wife

The Jerusalem Family Court voided an approved prenuptial agreement between a couple who had been married for 28 years. The court held that the wife had exploited the husband’s severe emotional distress and obtained terms that were extremely disadvantageous to him.

Key facts

•Case No. 515556-03-24
•Jerusalem Family Court
•The date of the judgment is not specified in the source
•Support under the agreement — 9,500 shekels
•The husband’s income — 6,200 shekels
•Legal costs — 70,000 shekels

What the Agreement Stipulated

An ultra-Orthodox couple who raised four children divorced after 28 years of marriage. About ten years before their separation, the couple signed an agreement under which all rights to the family apartment and another apartment would be transferred to the wife. The husband was also required to pay support of 9,500 shekels, while his income was 6,200 shekels per month. Each spouse’s banking, pension and social-security rights remained separate, even though the husband did not have an account of his own and the family’s funds were held in the wife’s account.

Why the Husband Sought to Void the Agreement

The husband relied on the ground of exploitation established in the Contracts Law: a contract may be voided if the other party exploited a person’s distress and the contract’s terms were unreasonably unfavorable. The wife argued that he understood the document’s contents, had debts, suffered from addictions and was absent from the home, while she bore the family’s expenses.

The Court’s Conclusion

Judge Orit Ben-Dor Livel held that the wife had made the continuation of the marriage conditional on signing the agreement. In the court’s assessment, the husband was in a state of extreme emotional dependence, feared divorce and agreed to the terms because he believed the document would not be used. The court held that the agreement was one-sided and benefited the wife excessively: the husband was left without a roof over his head and without property rights, while she received two apartments and all the rights that had accrued.

Implications of the Judgment

Following the agreement’s cancellation, the husband will receive half of the rights in both apartments. The court also ordered the wife to pay him 70,000 shekels in legal costs. The decision was issued even though the agreement had previously been duly approved.

What this means for you

Even a prenuptial agreement that was duly approved may be voided in exceptional cases on the ground of exploitation. This requires evidence of one party’s distress, its exploitation by the other party, and terms that are clearly and unreasonably unfavorable. Later dissatisfaction with the agreement is not, by itself, sufficient to achieve such a result.

Find a lawyer for this topic

Case analysis based on court rulings