Pre and post nuptial agreements

Over the last few years, there has been a significant increase in the number of couples wishing to enter into pre or post-nuptial agreements in order to regulate the financial arrangements between them during their marriage, and to protect their assets in the event of a possible future breakdown in their relationship. Couples may wish to enter into such agreements for a number of reasons, for example a wish by one party to protect family assets or an inheritance, or, in the case of couples who have children from previous relationships, a desire to protect their children’s inheritance from any claim by a future partner, or simply from a desire to avoid the need to deal with financial arrangements at a time in the future when the relationship may have broken down, and negotiations could therefore be more difficult.

The law in England and Wales in relation to such agreements is currently in a period of development.   Although we have not yet reached the position where agreements are automatically binding, their role in the consideration by the court of a couple`s  finances is becoming ever more important. It is therefore crucial that anyone contemplating entering into such an agreement obtains specialist legal advice.  We recognise that advising in relation to these agreements requires not only legal expertise, but also a particularly sensitive approach to a concept which is often rejected as being “unromantic”.