Lack of disclosure by husband not found in Ontario Superior Court of Justice domestic contract case

Balsmeier v. Balsmeier

2016 CarswellOnt 8711

Ontario Superior Court of Justice

Family law --- Domestic contracts and settlements — Validity — Essential validity and capacity — Lack of disclosure

Husband was 50 years old at time parties met and was wealthy — Wife was 42 years old at time parties met and was not wealthy — Husband required pre-nuptial agreement — Wife had lawyer when negotiating agreement — Wife was not happy with final agreement but executed it — Husband provided schedule setting out assets — Parties separated after three years of marriage — Husband retired — Wife sought to set aside marriage contract — Wife's application dismissed — Marriage contract was not set aside — Terms of marriage contract completely addressed wife's entitlement to spousal support and court declined to make alternate award — Husband's income in schedule referred to projected future income and to this extent it was not misrepresentation as it was future estimation — Wife could have sought clarification of income figures in husband's schedule, but did not — While it would have been prudent for husband to volunteer disclosure regarding current income, failure to do so was not sufficient to ground wife's claim to set aside marriage contract — Wife was aware husband was wealthy and she did not rely upon disclosure that husband made to her detriment if at all — Wife made material misrepresentations regarding her own financial circumstances — Wife understood nature and consequences of marriage contract prior to executing it — Wife did not show there were unconscionable circumstances surrounding negotiation of agreement — Agreement was not improvident — Spousal support terms accorded with and might be superior to what would have been granted to wife — Wife did not show husband exerted any undue influence on her or that he otherwise manipulated or coerced her into signing agreement — Wife did not execute marriage contract under duress or illegitimate pressure — Husband made no material misrepresentation on which wife relied in executing marriage contract — Both parties received independent legal advice from experienced family law lawyers — Negotiations surrounding marriage contract were not fundamentally flawed.