Christian v. Christian

In Christian v. Christian (42 NY2d 63 [1977]), the Court of Appeals delineated the test for voiding a separation agreement for unconscionability as whether it is "manifestly unfair to a spouse because of the other's overreaching" (id. at 72). The Court went on to state, "In determining whether a separation agreement is invalid, courts may look at the terms of the agreement to see if there is an inference, or even a negative inference, of overreaching in its execution. If the execution of the agreement, however, be fair, no further inquiry will be made" (id. at 73). The Christian test is a two part test. There must be manifest unfairness coupled with overreaching. That the Court of Appeals was more concerned with the circumstances surrounding the execution of a marital agreement rather than the substance of the agreement itself is borne out in these passages from Christian: "These principles in mind, courts have thrown their cloak of protection about separation agreements and made it their business, when confronted, to see to it that they are arrived at fairly and equitably, in a manner so as to be free from the taint of fraud and duress, and to set aside or refuse to enforce those born of and subsisting in inequity" (id. at 72). Also, "when there has been full disclosure between the parties, not only of all relevant facts but also of their contextual significance, and there has been an absence of inequitable conduct or other infirmity which might vitiate the execution of the agreement, courts should not intrude so as to redesign the bargain arrived at by the parties on the ground that judicial wisdom in retrospect would view one or more of the specific provisions as improvident or one-sided" (id. at 72).