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Married couples and civil partners have certain legal obligations to each other under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and the court will divide finances and property on divorce in accordance with this law. It is therefore essential if you are considering getting married or entering into a civil partnership and you have anything of importance which you would wish to hold on to, should the relationship break down at a later stage, that you protect yourself with a prenuptial agreement (pre-civil partnership agreement).

A pre nup (or pre cip) is an agreement made between you and your future husband/wife/civil partner before the marriage/civil partnership, to detail assets such as:

• a house you may have owned before the relationship started
• inherited property
• valuables such as cars, jewellery or artworks
• pets

In fact, the document can outline anything of importance to you that you would wish to keep if your marriage or civil partnership fails at any stage. It can also include information on the wealth each partner brought into the relationship and, in the event of a split, the pre nup can be placed before the court for its consideration when deciding on a financial settlement.

Protecting your business assets

If you own or have a share of a business you may wish to protect this from any possible future claim by your spouse-to-be. In your prenuptial agreement, you will need to have agreed that your future spouse waives all rights to interest in the business in the case of divorce or your death.  Alternatively, you may wish to have an agreement in place for your future spouse to have the option to buy any shares you may own in a business in the event of your death.

Protection against creditors

If your spouse-to-be has incurred substantial debts before your marriage, it is important to have a prenuptial agreement if you wish to protect your assets from being seized by creditors in the event of divorce or your death.

If you have assets that you would like to protect then our family lawyers can discuss the viability of entering into a prenuptial agreement which will set out your intentions as to what will happen if you break up.

Are they enforceable?

For many years Prenuptial Agreements were seen as suitable for the rich and famous where huge amounts of money were at stake. More recently, with the rise in property values and also money being passed down from one generation to the next to help buy property these agreements may have wider relevance.

Prenuptial (and Postnuptial) Agreements are not yet legally binding, although they may be upheld if the court is satisfied that:

• the agreement is properly drafted,
• both parties have received or had the opportunity to receive independent legal advice,
• both parties have given full and frank financial disclosure to each other,
• both parties have entered the agreement at least 21 days before the marriage,
• the agreement takes into account significant changes in the future
• the agreement is fair and realistic.

Legal advice on prenuptial agreements

It’s possible to make a marital property agreement regarding the intentions for your wealth and assets at any time during your relationship. It’s important that both parties seek individual family law advice before signing an agreement and that no pressure is put on either party to sign. Before considering the contents of any prenuptial or postnuptial agreement the court will want to make sure that each party signed the agreement with full knowledge and understanding of its ramifications.