A woman who accepted title to the family home as prepayment for 15 years of child support cannot seek arrears simply because the house sold for only two-thirds of the value estimated at the time of the divorce, a Long Island judge has held.

"The law is clear that both [the Domestic Relations Law] and the public policy in favor of finality require the enforcement of property distribution agreements pursuant to their terms, absent fraud, regardless of post-agreement changes in the values of the assets," Supreme Court Justice Anthony J. Falanga of Nassau County wrote in Deabreu v. Deabreu, 04-203424.

"The law views the equitable distribution of marital assets as a snapshot, not a movie," he said. "If an agreement distributing marital assets is not subject to vacatur, on the date of its execution, on grounds sufficient to vitiate a contract, it may not be modified or set aside on the ground that future events have rendered the division of assets inequitable."

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