The divorce between Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker has taken a sharp legal turn, and now several top attorneys are weighing in on whether Todd actually has a shot at overturning their prenuptial agreement. While the experts agree he can make an argument, they also warn that winning won’t be easy — especially given the circumstances surrounding when and how he signed the prenup back in 2014.
Holly Davis, founding partner of Kirker Davis LLP, told US weekly the timing of the signing alone opens the door for Todd to argue that he was pressured.
“Any time a person signs a prenuptial agreement days or hours before their wedding, they are creating an argument to be made later that they were under duress or undue pressure to sign the document,” Davis explains. But she adds that this line of reasoning “only holds weight” if Todd can prove specific factors that rise to the legal definition of duress.
Even then, Davis notes Todd may struggle to make that case. According to her, Todd “had ample time and opportunity” to contact his attorney before signing and had already been talking with that lawyer for months. For his argument to succeed, Davis says it would likely take something far more serious:
“In the rare chance that Kandi’s lawyer fraudulently asserted that Todd’s attorney had signed off on the terms of the prenup when they had not, it might have a chance to win.”
Ultimately, though, she still believes Todd faces an uphill battle. “The fact that Todd had an attorney on retainer and had been discussing the prenuptial agreement with him for months preceding the wedding makes his argument a losing one.”
Another attorney, K. Bruggemann of Gallet Dreyer & Berkey LLP, agrees that Todd’s challenge hinges on proving something was fundamentally off about the circumstances of the signing — and she says the unaired Bravo footage Kandi submitted could play a major role.
“Because Georgia requires full financial disclosure, voluntariness, and the absence of coercion, Todd would need to show that one of these elements was missing when he signed,” she explains. “This is where the wedding-related footage becomes significant: if the footage depicts Kandi or her family exerting undue pressure, setting last-minute deadlines, or presenting the prenup under emotionally charged circumstances Todd’s argument could be persuasive.”
She also points to potential evidence from The Real Housewives of Atlanta and the five-part wedding special Kandi’s Wedding:
“Similarly, if the footage or other evidence suggests he did not fully understand the financial terms, did not have a realistic opportunity to consult independent counsel, or was rushed into signing without negotiation, Georgia courts may view those factors as weakening the agreement’s enforceability.”
According to Bruggemann, the core of Todd’s argument will come down to one thing: involuntariness.
“The #1 issue Todd would have to prove to challenge the prenup is involuntariness — that he was pressured, threatened, or coerced into signing coupled with the lack of time to negotiate, consult with counsel and understand the draft he ultimately signed.”
But she also raises a twist: the role of raw footage versus edited reality TV.
“The particularly interesting part of this issue is what the raw footage captured, what producers can testify to, and if there was any dramatic effect put into the edited footage that can be contradicted by witnesses to show that any panic, coercion, or intensity in that moment was inserted for dramatic effect and that all was settled prior to Todd’s signing.”
Finally, New York divorce attorney Yonatan S. Levoritz told US weekly that Todd’s argument isn’t entirely baseless — especially if the agreement heavily favored Kandi.
He notes Todd’s claim “may have some validity as the lack of counsel is but one factor for the court to consider.”
“While having counsel is an important right it is not the be all and end all of the argument. The agreement would have to be one-sided in favor Kandi in terms of the rights or deprivation of rights under the agreement. Therefore, if the agreement was lopsided and deprived Todd of significant marital wealth and he was unaware of the terms and Kandi had counsel present that could be enough to increase his odds at overturning the agreement,” he says.
Burruss filed for divorce on November 21, and with reality TV footage now reportedly becoming part of the case, the legal battle over their prenup appears far from over.
