Court Cases & Orders

Marriage Contracts: Read Before You Sign (and Cry “Duress” at Your Own Peril)

Written by Russell Alexander ria@russellalexander.com / (905) 655-6335

When it comes to marriage contracts, the Ontario Court of Appeal has made one thing clear: You can’t claim “duress” after cavalierly signing on the dotted line, especially if you didn’t bother to read the fine print. And especially if you claim to have reviewed “thousands” of contracts before.

In a decision called Singh v. Khalill, the couple tied the knot in 2016 and separated in 2020.  In 2017, when the wife became concerned about their financial arrangements, she presented the husband with a marriage contract to review and sign.  He did so without asking for or obtaining independent legal advice, but notably signed in the presence of a lawyer, who notarized the agreement and confirmed that the husband had signed it voluntarily, understood its contents, and acted without any compulsion from the wife.

The contract’s terms stipulated that if the couple ever separated, they would have no spousal support obligations toward each other, and would retain separate property ownership.

When the spouses did eventually split, the husband asked the court to set the agreement aside; he claimed he signed it under duress to “save his marriage”, and did not have full financial disclosure from the wife.

The lower court disagreed, and the Court of Appeal confirmed.  There was no evidence that the husband had been coerced into signing.

To the contrary, the husband admitted that he neglected to read the agreement at all, or seek legal advice about it before signing. Based on his admissions and the other evidence, the lower court was able to make the following central findings of fact:

  • The husband “had not bothered” to read the contract before signing it;
  • The husband had significant experience with various legal proceedings;
  • He was capable of understanding contracts (stating that he had read “thousands” of them);
  • He had substantial assets and income when he and the wife married, and was thus not concerned about the financial consequences of the marriage contract.

The Court of Appeal saw no reason to intervene with these findings.  One of the established factors for deciding whether to set aside this marriage contract under the Ontario Family Law Act, was to determine whether the husband was not the victim of the wife, “but rather of his … own failure to self-protect.”  Here, the husband’s inattention to the contracts’ details or terms had created a problem of his own making.

Adding to the Court’s skepticism about the husband’s claims were the numerous contradictions in his evidence:  These included conflicting statements about prior marriages, and the fact that he did not reveal the contract’s existence in earlier proceedings. Collectively, these undermined his credibility. Nor was there evidence to suggest evidence to suggest exploitation or an imbalance of power in the negotiations.

In a final rebuke, the Appeal Court awarded the wife $18,000 in costs, making it clear that the husband’s unsuccessful appeal came at a price.

The takeaway? If you sign a marriage contract, make sure you read it—and think twice before crying “duress” or “coercion” if you didn’t.

For the full text of the decision, see:

Singh v. Khalill, 2024 ONCA 909 (CanLII), <https://canlii.ca/t/k8c3v>

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About the author

Russell Alexander

Russell Alexander is the Founder & Senior Partner of Russell Alexander Collaborative Family Lawyers.