Prenuptial Agreement Precludes Admissibility of Fault

Where parties in a divorce case enter into an agreement as to the division of property, a party is then precluded from using fault in the final division. Such was the case in Bufkin v. Bufkin, No. 05-06-01719-CV, 259 SW3d 343 (Tex.App.- Dallas, July 1, 2008, pet. denied Nov. 2008).

Facts of the Case

Edward O. Bufkin, Jr. (“Edward”) sued his wife, Elizabeth W. Bufkin (“Elizabeth”), for divorce in 1996, after nine years of marriage. The ensuing, protracted divorce proceeding, including two trials and several mandamus proceedings, has been focused on what property is subject to division under the terms of a prenuptial agreement.

Edward and Elizabeth both stipulated to the validity and enforceability of the Agreement. The El Paso court held that once Edward made this stipulation, he could not then argue it was invalid. Section XI of the Agreement expressly provided for the division of property in the event of divorce. Specifically, “each party will take, in full settlement of his or her property and all other rights due upon divorce, only his or her separate property estate and his or her one-half (½) share of the community property estate of the parties.” The Texas Family Code authorizes such written agreements. Tex. Fam. Code Ann. §§ 4.001-4.009 (Vernon 2006). The Supreme Court, then opined that since the parties contracted how the community estate was to be divided in the event of divorce, provisions of the Texas Family Code allowing evidence of fault in divisions do not apply. The Agreement's terms dictated an even division of the community estate. Accordingly, evidence of fault was not relevant and the trial judge did not abuse her discretion when she excluded it.