Woman wins prenuptial battle

A Long Island woman won a rare and major divorce battle based on a verbal agreement, her lawyer said. Before her wedding in 1998, Elizabeth Petrakis refused to sign a prenuptial agreement that would give her $25,000 for every year she was married. But when her husband, Peter, a commercial property developer, promised he would get rid of it once they began to have children, his wife agreed to sign the document, ABC News said. The couple had three children, but her husband never tore the document up. Then Petrakis found out she wasn't listed on the deed of their mansion, ABC News said. "I would rather live in a two-bedroom apartment with someone who loves me than live in a 14,000-square-foot mansion and not trust someone," she said. "I said I was done." During the trial, Petrakis' lawyer Dennis D'Antonio said he had to prove that her husband had no intention of keeping the promise. On Feb. 20, the court ruled that Peter Petrakis, who is worth $20 million, "fraudulently induced" his wife to sign the prenup. Now, Petrakis said she owns her own business, Divorce Prep Experts, which helps others navigate through divorce proceedings.