Pre-Nuptial Agreements

In many parts of Europe, pre-nuptial agreements are held to be legally enforceable if the parties divorce provided that both parties received sound legal advice and signed up to the pre nuptial agreement without being coerced or bullied into doing so.

In the UK, it is different. Pre-nuptial agreements can be set aside by the family court when deciding how to settle marital income, capital or pensions upon divorce. It is left to the discretion of the court to decide what is appropriate and whether the terms of a pre nuptial agreement should be upheld or not.

Much will depend upon the circumstances of the marriage and whether changes have taken place since the pre nuptial agreement was entered into. For example, whether a child has been born to the marriage or one of the spouses has suffered serious disablement.

For this reason, many people in the UK who are anxious about what will happen to their income or assets if their marriage fails decide that pre nuptial agreements are not worth the paper they are written on. However, this is not necessarily the case. Increasingly, case law shows that the family courts do give weight to properly executed pre-nuptial agreements and have held them to be binding upon the parties in the event of divorce. It is true that this cannot be guaranteed, but then without an agreement nothing can be guaranteed. With an agreement in place, there is evidence of what the parties intended before they married.

If the Agreement is regularly reviewed at least every 3 years and in the event that a significant change occurs such as the birth of a child to the marriage, then it is even more likely the family court will give weight to the terms of the pre nuptial agreement before deciding what is an appropriate settlement.