Pre-Nuptial Agreements

Pre-nuptial Agreements for Marrying and Non-Married Couples

The Furley Page Family Law team offer advice on why and how to make pre-nuptial agreements for marrying couples and agreements between non-married couples.

Agreements between non-married couples

Couples living together without getting married, understand it is important to protect their investments. Non-married couples often enter into an agreement before purchasing a property together to set out what will happen if they split up as couple. Such an agreement can define:

• What their contributions towards the mortgage and other outgoings will be and
• How they will divide their property and
• Other assets in the event that their relationship breaks down.,

Marrying couples and Pre-nuptial agreements

Couples who are getting married are generally more reluctant to contemplate the type of  prenuptial agreement mentioned above.
The usual objection is that such an agreement is unromantic, demonstrating a lack of trust in one's spouse or a lack of faith that the marriage will last.

Pre-nuptial Agreements for marrying couples are common sense

Discussions relating to:

• Money,
• Where you are going to live,
• How soon you are going to have a family,
• Whether you are both going to work full-time and
• How much you are going to spend on your wedding

are fundamental to the business of getting married. Sensible people discuss these things in advance and a discussion as to what might happen in the unfortunate event that relationship is not lifelong, does not indicate an intention to split up; any more than buying insurance indicates an intention to have an accident.

Pre-nuptial Agreements are good insurance

Just like insurance, a prenuptial agreement could make the process splitting assets less expensive and less complicated if the couple separates.
The other major objection to prenuptial agreements is that, as a matter of law, they are not enforceable as a contract. This is to say that whatever agreement the parties to a marriage enter into, the agreement can always be set aside by the court on divorce if the agreement is unfair to one party.
 

Increasingly Courts take notice of Pre-nuptial agreements

At present there is no sign of Parliament making prenuptial agreements enforceable, but increasingly the Courts are take notice of pre-nuptial agreements in the event of divorce; when deciding how to divide their assets. In one or two cases the Courts have upheld the settlement which the husband and wife have agreed in advance.
Whilst it is still not possible to guarantee that the Court will uphold a pre-nuptial agreement, the burden of proof appears to have shifted on to the party who says that the agreement should be set aside. If the pre-nuptial agreement is not set aside, the cost saving will be considerable.
 

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