A married couple, who were getting divorced, signed an agreement titled “Financial Agreement” before a notary during their marriage. The agreement stipulated, among other things, that in the event of the sale of the residential apartment, the wife would receive a refund of NIS 800,000 for the apartment she had before the marriage and that she had sold it and its contents. The agreement was not approved by a court or religious court.
The court ruled that the agreement was invalid. According to the Financial Relations Law, a financial agreement concluded after marriage must be approved by a court after the court is satisfied that the agreement was made out of free will, and that both parties understood exactly what was involved and what the possible consequences of signing that agreement were. In exceptional cases, an agreement may be recognized as not having been approved by the court if both spouses had maintained it for a long time, and one of them relied on it and was harmed by it. Here, the agreement was not approved by the court and the exception does not apply since the agreement was not substantially implemented. Also, because the agreement unreasonably deprives the spouse, the requirement of formal approval by the court is necessary and cannot be waived. Therefore, the residential apartment belongs to both parties in equal shares.
