Abstract:
Financial agreements made between parties who are contemplating marriage, contemplating divorce, or in the throes of divorce attract public law concerns. The law respects the private rights and interests of individuals to make agreements in matters affecting their personal lives. But society is interested in seeing that fundamental family obligations are fulfilled and that the economically weaker family members are protected when a family unit breaks down. The law attempts to strike a balance between giving autonomy to spouses and retaining judicial control over such agreements. This article surveys the approaches taken in recent cases on agreements made between spouses.