Premarital agreements, also commonly known as prenuptial agreements or a “prenup”, are contracts. But family law in Virginia can act like a distortion zone, where the normal rules of court are modified or cast aside in favor of pursing fairness, or at least fairness as the judge sees it. So the question is whether a premarital agreement is interpreted like a normal contract, according to the plain language of the agreement, or can be interpreted other ways to achieve a more “fair” outcome. That’s what the Court of Appeals addressed recently in the case of McDaniel v. Griffith, Record No. 0597-15-3 (Va. Ct. App. 2016). Continue reading →