The Nassau County Bar Association has called an emergency meeting to discuss ways to strengthen prenuptial agreements after a woman had hers tossed by a judge earlier this year, The Post has learned.
Elizabeth Petrakis got an appellate panel to junk the agreement she had signed with Peter Petrakis just four days before their 1998 wedding that denied her access to his millions.
She successfully argued that he forced her to sign the document and that it should be nullified.
The fallout rocked the matrimonial-law world — and the Nassau County legal association is tackling the issue head-on with an Oct. 28 seminar titled “Drafting an Effective Prenuptial Agreement in a Post-Petrakis World.”
Divorce attorney John DiMascio Jr. said that the stunning case highlighted the rapid evolution of prenuptial agreements and that attorneys need to be prepared.
The lawyer said that he now makes sure to add specific language in his drafts that clearly deny any coercion in signing the agreement.
Petrakis argued that her hubby, Peter Petrakis, threatened to call off their lavish wedding if she didn’t sign the document and promised to tear it up after they had kids.
Her bruising divorce case is now winding through the courts with no prenuptial in place — and her husband is suddenly claiming poverty.
Elizabeth Petrakis’ lawyer said that Peter claimed his net worth was $20 million when the agreement was in place — but now maintains that his pockets are empty.
“His approach in this case is to drag it out in court until she’s an old lady,” lawyer Dennis D’Antonio told The Post.
The couple — who have three children together — are duking it out in Nassau County court.