Section 4.5 Overview

• Library: Family Law Deskbook and 2014 Supp

1. (§4.5) Overview

The standards of judicial review of antenuptial and postnuptial agreements affecting marital rights upon death have been noted above. These standards have been the rule in Missouri long before the adoption of the dissolution of marriage law in 1974. For agreements contemplating the possibility of dissolution of marriage, the standards enunciated in Ferry v. Ferry, 586 S.W.2d 782 (Mo. App. W.D. 1979), are substantially similar. To be valid, the agreement must have been entered into “freely, fairly, knowingly, understandingly and in...