Opinion
February 13, 1996
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Winick, J.).
Ordered that the judgment is reversed, on the law, with costs, and the complaint is dismissed.
A separation agreement will be enforced unless it is shown to be the result of fraud or overreaching, or its terms can be characterized as unconscionable (see, Christian v. Christian, 42 N.Y.2d 63). In this case, there was no evidence, other than the wife's testimony, of her diminished physical or mental capacity at the time the separation agreement was executed (cf., Weinstock v. Weinstock, 167 A.D.2d 394). In fact, the attorney who drafted the agreement testified that the wife told him she understood its terms and that the statement of finances included in the agreement was accurate. Although the husband received all of the parties' assets, the total sum of which was $112,776, he also assumed, pursuant to the agreement, all of their liabilities, which were approximately $200,000 more than their assets. In addition, the attorney-draftsman had repeatedly urged the wife to retain her own counsel. The fact that the wife was not represented by her own independent counsel does not, in itself, establish overreaching since the evidence established that the wife was knowledgeable in business and legal matters (see, Tirrito v. Tirrito, 191 A.D.2d 686). Under these circumstances, the separation agreement was valid and enforceable (see, e.g., Wasserman v. Wasserman, 217 A.D.2d 544; Torsiello v Torsiello, 188 A.D.2d 523). Rosenblatt, J.P., O'Brien, Pizzuto and Goldstein, JJ., concur.