Pre-nuptial agreements have their roots in pop culture as the reason for conflict in many celebrity marriages, although there is not a lot of understanding of what they do and are.
So what are pre-nuptial agreements and are they really worth the paper they are written on? Pre-nups as they are known are written agreements between couples prepared before a marriage or even after saying “I Do” and set out how assets would be split in the event of a divorce.
The key case which gave pre-nuptial agreements the limelight was Radmacher v Granatino in 2010. The couple were married for 8 years with two daughters. The wife, of substantial wealth was a German national and the husband was French. Prior to their marriage they signed a pre-nuptial agreement that meant that neither was entitled to claim against the assets of the other in the event of a divorce.
Sadly, the marriage broke down and despite the terms of the pre-nuptial agreement the husband was awarded £5.6 million. The wife disagreed with this decision. The Court of Appeal agreed. It was said that “sufficient weight was not given to the existence of the agreement”.
The importance of this case is the principle that such agreements should be given weight and can be applied to an everyday couple irrespective of how wealthy they are. As long as the parties have freely entered into the agreement and have a full understanding of the implications there is no reason why such agreements should not carry any weight. There are of course some factors which may affect such agreements, such as the needs of any children of the family and each case will be decided on its own facts.
So are pre-nuptial agreements really worth the paper they are written on? If such agreements are drafted with a number of safeguards in mind there is no reason why such agreements should not be given the weight they deserve.
Such safeguards include:
This article is not intended as legal advice and is an opinion of the writer. Should you require any advice or assistance with pre/post nuptial agreements or matrimonial matters involving children or financial settlements you can contact the writer, Helen Ioannou at Burke Niazi Solicitors on 020 7263 7887.
This article is not intended as legal advice and is an opinion of the writer. Should you require any advice or assistance with pre/post nuptial agreements or matrimonial matters involving children or financial settlements you can contact the writer, Helen Ioannou at Burke Niazi Solicitors on 020 7263 7887.