Prenuptial Agreements

A pre-nup (prenuptial agreement) can dampen passion faster than a cold shower or staying over at your parents' house.  It is a formal contract entered into prior to marriage which sets out what should happen if you divorce.

Pre-nups have become more fashionable over the years, however they do not yet have the status that they have in America.  A pre-nup is not binding, however it can be persuasive on the Court.  This means that it is something that will be taken into account along with everything else when deciding how to deal with the financial ramifications of divorce.

Prenuptial agreements can be very important where there is a disparity of assets being brought into a marriage between the parties or one or other party is to sacrifice their position for the family, such as when the wife is to give up work to raise children.

Where the marriage is relatively short and there are no children then a properly entered into pre-nup is likely to be of great significance.  The longer the marriage and the more children there are the less significance.  What a pre-nup will not do is prevent either party from asking the court to give them anything different.

One  of the considerations the court will have is whether either party received legal advice before entering into the agreement.  If you are thinking of entering into a pre-nup then it is something that needs to be approached with great delicacy and tact.  We always recommend that you seek advice first and make sure it is something you want to do before you even raise the issue.

We are here to help 24 hours a day 365 days a year.  Either e-mail us anytime, call (01296) 662770 (Nick) or (01525) 373322 (Richard) during the normal working day or (07973) 424178 in an emergency.