Tailored legal advice for the most romantic at heart!

Pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements – what you need to know.

When you’re lost in the romance of planning a wedding, entering into a pre-nuptial agreement with your intended may be the last thing on your mind!

However, it’s not about being cynical or unromantic, but about safeguarding yours and your partner’s future in the event of a divorce.

Sadly, in the UK in 2022 a whopping 42% of marriages ended in divorce – a staggering number!

Now, with the wedding season in full swing, the Family Law team wanted to provide some information for engaged couples on what legal advice to consider, as well as introducing the concept of post-nuptial agreements.

Hopefully, these are safeguards you will never need to action, but it is always good to be fully informed ahead of entering into any agreement – particularly one as important as marriage.

What is a pre-nuptial agreement?

A lot of people don’t realise that once you get married, your claims on each other’s assets change. If your husband or wife is considerably wealthier than you, your claim on their assets in the event of a divorce could be quite substantial, therefore your partner may want to put a pre-nuptial agreement in place to protect his or her assets.

A pre-nuptial agreement is a contract entered into prior to a marriage, which sets out how assets should be divided between the partners on divorce. ‘Prenups’ as they are known, are commonly used to protect inheritance or assets one party acquired before entering into marriage.

Potential scenarios

There are more and more cases coming to light where parents have gifted a child money to buy a house for example, then the child enters into a relationship. If that relationship ends in marriage and subsequently divorce, half of the money gifted to one partner by his or her parent could disappear to their ex-partner.

If you are entering into a second marriage, you may have children from a previous relationship who you want to ensure inherit your assets. However, if your marriage ends in divorce, half of your assets which you would want your children to inherit could disappear.

Are pre-nuptial agreements legally binding?

At present, these agreements are not legally binding in the UK, although this is something which could be subject to change with Government intervention.

That said, if you follow our checklist for making a pre-nuptial agreement, should you find yourself in a divorce scenario, the courts are likely to uphold the agreement you and your spouse have put in place.

The checklist of what makes an actionable pre-nuptial agreement is as follows:

• The pre-nuptial agreement has to be signed up to at least 28 days before the wedding.
• Both parties have to get independent legal advice.
• Neither party must be placed under duress or be forced to make an agreement.
• It has to be fair – there can’t be one person walking away with everything and the other being left with nothing. What is fair varies on a case by case basis, so that’s where getting solid, independent legal advice comes in.
• Both parties must make a full disclosure regarding their assets. In essence, both parties put their cards on the table as to what they have in an open, honest and transparent way.

Isn’t this just for the super rich and famous?

Because of the publicity high profile divorces and pre-nuptial agreements get in glossy magazines concerning the rich and famous, you’d be forgiven for thinking a pre-nuptial agreement is just for those people who have a lot of wealth or status. However, they are important for anybody who wants to safeguard their assets in the event of a divorce. You may not have the bank balance of Kevin Costner, High Jackman or Kanye West, but you still want to ensure you are protected financially if your marriage ends.

A high-profile example

The show Love is Blind UK recently highlighted the issue of pre-nuptial agreements. In this show, couples ‘date’ without seeing each other in person before agreeing to get married. Contestant Catherine Richards was asked to sign a pre-nuptial agreement, or prenup, by the fellow contestant Freddy Powell – and she wasn’t happy about it as she felt it called into question his commitment and could be seen as controlling behaviour. However, these are common misconceptions and pre-nuptial agreements are there to protect everyone involved.

What is a post-nuptial agreement?

As the name suggests, a post-nuptial agreement can be entered into after marriage. This may be necessary where one party has inherited a considerable sum of money after they got married, which they want to protect in the event of a divorce. With this in mind, whether you are just about to get married or are already married and wish to protect your assets, you can get in touch with us for sound, independent legal advice.

Wills

If you are looking at a pre-nuptial agreement, it may also be prudent to consider making a will if you don’t already have one or consider whether it needs to be updated. This is particularly important for those who have children from a previous relationship, to ensure your wishes in respect of your children’s inheritance are upheld in the event of your death. You may also be looking to set up some kind of trust for someone. Our Wills, Trusts and Probate team are ready to help you alongside our Family team, who can refer you.

Take a leaf out of the younger generation’s book

You might think this is an uncomfortable or unromantic topic of conversation to be having with your intended, but we are finding that the younger generations are more switched on when it comes to their finances and are happier to have these difficult conversations than older clients who are perhaps about to enter a second marriage. Of course, we hope that everyone getting married in 2025 has a long and happy marriage. However, the stark divorce statistics demonstrate it is prudent to safeguard yours and your children’s future with a pre-nuptial agreement.

If you would like advice around making a pre-nuptial agreement or post-nuptial agreement, you can contact Katy Moody or ask to speak to one of our Family team on 0333 210 1876.