Master Recommends Denial of Preliminary Injunction Sought by Widow Challenging Pre-Nuptial Agreement

In Re: The Matter of the Estate of Kenneth R. Wolhar, C.A. No. 12860-MG (February 6, 2018)

       The decedent and his widow met in Ukraine in 2007 while decedent was on a trip to Ukraine. They married in Kiev, Ukraine in 2010. They had previously executed a prenuptial agreement, with the widow signing a translated Ukrainian version of that agreement (which had been translated by a Ukrainian-based certified translation company). Contending that for various reasons the prenuptial agreement is invalid, the widow seeks to take an elective share of the decedent’s estate.

       The widow, acting pro se, sought a preliminary injunction that would have had the executrix deposit one-third of the estate into an escrow account, post bond, file a lis pendens on the relevant real estate, and provide to the widow a Form 706 tax return to facilitate elective share calculations.

       In this report, the Master recommended denial of the sought preliminary injunction because the widow had not shown a reasonable probability of success on the merits and, alternatively, because the widow had not shown that she would suffer imminent, irreparable damages if the injunction were not entered. The Master also concluded that the balancing of the hardships did not weigh in the widow’s favor.