Prenuptial disagreement

Young is now claiming that she was pressured into signing prenup documents in 1996. In legal documents obtained by the entertainment website TMZ, she said:

"I was extremely reluctant, resistant and afraid to sign the agreement and felt backed into a corner. Given the extraordinary pressure and intimidation by Andre, I was left with no option but to hire a lawyer (of course, with the help of Andre's team of professionals) and unwillingly signed the agreement very shortly before our marriage."

Young went on to say that after the couple had been married for 2 years, her husband changed his mind about the prenuptial agreement: 

“Andre acknowledged to me that he felt ashamed he had pressured me into signing a premarital agreement and he tore up multiple copies of the agreement in front of me. Since the day he tore up the agreements, we both understood that there was no premarital agreement, and that it was null and void.”

This version of events is being disputed by Dr. Dre, who claims he never said the prenuptial agreement was invalid or tore up any papers.

What will happen next?

Attorneys acting for Young want a court to take a closer look at the prenup, which stipulates how the couple’s $800 million+ net worth will be divided. Dr. Dre has already agreed to pay spousal support.

Her legal team claims they have not been given access to the prenuptial documents, which could raise questions as to whether or not the agreement is valid. This, according to celebrity divorce specialist Judith Poller, means that it is likely that a hearing and trial separate to the divorce will be set. However, she believes Young’s claim about pressure to sign and the subsequent ripping up of the legal documents is weak in terms of the law. Speaking to TMZ, she explained:

“There’ve been very few instances where [prenups are] overturned, and the fact that somebody might say during the marriage, when in their happiest moment, ‘I’m sorry I made you go through this process, and I’m gonna rip it up,’ means absolutely nothing.”

“It’s like the dog ate my homework. It just doesn’t work,”

In the eyes of some legal experts, this is a bold but perhaps far-fetched gambit on the part of Young to renegotiate the original prenuptial agreement.  Keep an eye on our blog for more developments in this high-profile case.

And if you need help with divorce or prenuptial agreements, especially if there are complicated financial arrangements to resolve, call Liverpool divorce law specialist Tracey Miller Family Law on 0151 515 3036 for a free initial consultation.