My wife and I have been married for nearly 40 years. I want to make an agreement regarding our property as I have suspicions about her having an affair and want to protect myself. Is this still possible if we have been married so long, and do we have to get court approval ?
By: דיאנה שאלתיאל•Published on: 10 May, 2022Yes, a married couple can make a property relations agreement regardless of when they got married. It must, however, receive court authorisation to be valid. Although the Spouses’ Property Relations’ Act of 1973 only came into force on 1.1.74, the requirement of court authorisation also applies to couples marrying before that time who made a property relations agreement after the act was effective.
These points were stressed by the Supreme Court in 1977 which held that a husband who had married before 1974 could not enforce parts of a divorce agreement relating to property which had been drawn up after 1974 because they had not received court authorsiation. This was vital; a court had to identify the parties and be satisfied that they had signed the agreement relating to property of their own free will, after understanding its contents and implications, it held.