State high court rules prenup is ambiguous

PORTLAND – Maine’s highest court ruled Tuesday that the applicability of a Winthrop couple’s prenuptial agreement in the event of death as well as divorce was ambiguous and sent the issue back to probate court for clarification.

The Supreme Judicial Court set aside the probate court’s ruling to allow enforcement of the agreement that Kelene and Timmy Barrows signed in 1997, two days before their marriage. It provided that Timmy Barrows’ share of the Bob Barrows Inc. Chevrolet dealership in Winthrop and of land and buildings that he acquired jointly with his brother shall remain separate nonmarital property.

After Barrows died in February 2004 at age 39, Kelene sought an elective share of his estate as surviving spouse. Tommy Barrows, brother of the deceased and personal representative of the estate, then petitioned the court to enforce the prenuptial agreement.

In her appeal, Kelene Barrows contended that even if the agreement is deemed applicable in the event of death, she is still entitled to an elective share of the estate because the contract language does not effectively waive her rights under state law.

The spouse’s elective share in Maine amounts to roughly one-third of an estate.

The supreme court instructed the Waldo County Probate Court to consider “extrinsic evidence” to help determine whether the couple intended the agreement to apply upon death and whether the agreement was intended to be a waiver of the spousal elective share.

Testimony will be presented to the probate court, which relied solely on attorney arguments when it first took up the case.