A judge has refused to enforce the prenup that was signed by a couple from New York that after the wife claimed she couldn't understand German.

Swiss-born Nathalie Karg who was raised in a German-speaking household, told the couple's Manhattan divorce judge that the document 'was in German, a language I do not speak or understand well.'

Her estranged husband, attempted to convince the judge that his ex-wife was lying.

Duped? Nathalie Karg, above with her estranged husband, gallery-owner Anton Kern, says she signed a prenup at his family home in Germany but did not understand exactly what she was signing at the time

Chelsea gallery owner Anton Kern said even submitted evidence to the court in the form of an e-mail his wife wrote in German in 2012 to disprove his spouse's alleged fibbing.

Mr Kern who runs the Anton Kern Gallery, is the son of famous German painter Georg Baselitz, whose work is exhibited at MoMA and the Guggenheim.

He is said to be worth more than $360 million.

Karg filed for divorce in 2012 and is demanding $15 million although it is not clear as to whether she will get any of money until after a divorce trial has completed.

According to the New York Post, Karg who also runs an art gallery claimed Kern's parents tricked her into signing the deal.

Nein! The judge felt symptahy towards Swiss-born Nathalie Karg who told the couple's Manhattan divorce judge that the document 'was in German, a language I do not speak or understand well'

Karg said Kern and his parents told her they only wanted to protect their own assets, such as the castle in which they lived.

'My parents are excited about the marriage, but you are not getting the castle,' Anton Kern allegedly joked before she signed the papers.

It was only when Karg filed for divorce in 2012 that she discovered the specific details of the prenup which essentially left her with nothing after waiving the rights to her husband's fortune, estimated to be tens of millions of dollars.

During a court hearing in Manhattan, Kern's father, Mr Baselitz said he never offered to provide Karg a written translation of the agreement and was 'not concerned with whether or not Karg understood or did not understand German.'

In court papers released this week and obtained by the New York Post, Manhattan Supreme Court threw out the prenup noting that Karg's understanding was crucial.

'While it is clear the plaintiff is a savvy business woman, independent and strong-willed, it does not contradict the fact that she trusted, relied on and believed her fiancé when he translated the meaning of the agreement as being 'You are waiving all rights to his father's wealth,' Referee Sue Ann Hoahng wrote.

'She had no reason not to believe him. According to both parties, they were in love.'

Whether Karg, who now runs a gallery on Great Jones Street, will actually get a share of her hubby's inheritance is an issue for an upcoming divorce trial.