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Published: 28th November 2018
The ex-wife of McLaren racing car driver, Kenny Brack, has demanded half of the £11 million family fortune as an appeal court ruled that their Prenuptial Agreement was “unfair”.
The Prenuptial Agreement – which was signed whilst the couple holidayed in Niagara Falls in 2000 – left Anita Brack with less than £500,000 whilst Kenny Brack was awarded a hearty £10 million when they separated more than 15 years later.
Ms Brack has now taken her ex husband and IndyCar champion to court in a bid to secure half of the £11.4 million family fortune, and has called for the Prenuptial Agreements to be torn up.
Before the pair married back in 2000, Anita Brack signed a Prenuptial Agreement and claimed she was made to sign a further two agreements in Canada and the USA as the couple travelled the world as part of Mr Bracks career.
More than 18 years on from their marriage and with two children, Anita Brack is now appealing the decisions of the court and is pleading that her claims are heard. However a divorce judge rejected Ms Bracks claim for £5 million of the fortune, and said that she was in full knowledge of what the Prenuptial Agreement meant.
Former Swedish racing car driver Kenny Brack told the judge that he was ‘not bothered’ about marrying his now ex-wife, indicating that he wouldn’t have married her if she refused to sign the Prenuptial Agreements back in 2000.
The couple raised their two children in their £3 million, five-bedroom family home, which was later sold on the order of a judge in order to fund Ms Bracks divorce settlement.
It was in 2016 when Family Court judge Mr Justice Francis was presented with the Brack case which would determine how the £11.4 million family fortune would be split.
Whilst the judge questioned the fairness of the agreement, stating “I do not believe it to be fair, after a marriage of this length and with these contributions and these children, for the wife to be left with almost nothing and for the husband to be left with almost everything”, he ultimately respected the contractual agreement and continued by saying “I have found that the wife did understand that she was signing a Prenuptial Agreement that would govern the financial consequences of the marriage if it ended”.
The judge later went on to say, “I found the husband to be rather cold and matter of fact...I find his current approach towards the wife and the knock-on-effect it would have on the children to be both mean-spirited and mean”.
Since the Family court hearing back in 2016, email evidence has surfaced which suggests Anita Brack didn’t fully understand the agreement she was signing, and that her ex husband assured her that the Prenup wouldn’t govern the actual financial provisions he would make for her.
Despite Ms Bracks unsuccessful attempts to secure her share of the £11.4 million in previous years, an appeal court has now ruled that the agreement, signed more than 18 years ago, was “unfair”.
Whilst the courts haven’t disclosed what amounts to a fair settlement throughout divorce proceedings, more importance is now being placed on the share of the assets awarded to the financially weaker party.
If you are thinking about a Pre- or Postnuptial agreement then K J Smith Solicitors can help. We offer a free 45 min consultation to give you the opportunity to meet with our team and to find out more about the process before deciding if you wish to proceed in instructing us to act on your behalf.
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