If you are searching for the phrase ‘my fiancé wants me to sign a prenup’, the specialist team at Johnson Astills are on hand to provide the advice and support you need.
Being asked to consider a prenuptial agreement before marriage can prompt a range of reactions, and it is worth understanding what a prenuptial agreement actually involves before forming a view. For many couples, a prenup has nothing to do with distrust or a lack of commitment. It is a considered, practical step that brings financial clarity to a marriage from the outset, and one that both parties can shape together.
Please call us free now on 0800 059 0600 or complete a Free Online Enquiry and a member of the team will get back to you soon.
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What Is A Prenuptial Agreement?
A prenuptial agreement is a written document entered into by two people before they marry. It details out how their assets, income, and liabilities will be dealt with if the marriage later breaks down.
In England and Wales, prenuptial agreements are not automatically legally binding, but following the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Radmacher v Granatino in 2010, they carry significant legal weight where certain criteria have been met. The Supreme Court held that the court should give effect to a nuptial agreement freely entered into by each party with a full appreciation of its implications, unless it would not be fair to hold the parties to it.
What Should I Do If My Fiancé Wants A Prenup?
A prenuptial agreement does not have to be one-sided, and it does not have to work against you. Both parties have a say in its contents, both are entitled to independent legal advice before signing, and no court will uphold an agreement that is manifestly unfair or fails to meet the reasonable needs of either party. Approaching the process as a joint exercise rather than a demand made by one party of the other tends to produce a better outcome, both legally and personally.
We can advise you on your position before you commit to anything, help you understand what you are being asked to agree to, and make sure that any agreement you sign genuinely reflects a fair outcome for you.
What Do People Typically Include In A Prenup?
No two prenuptial agreements are the same, and the contents are dictated entirely by the financial circumstances of the couple.
Common provisions cover the following areas:
- Pre-marital assets, such as property, savings, investments, and pensions accumulated before the wedding. These can be ring-fenced so that each party retains what they brought to the marriage
- Inherited wealth and family assets, including family businesses, farms, and trust interests. These can be protected from being treated as shared matrimonial property.
- Business interests, with the agreement defining an interest as separate property and addressing how any increase in value is treated, protecting co-directors and shareholders as much as the individual parties.
- Debt and liabilities, specifying which party is responsible for debts incurred before or during the marriage.
- Property arrangements, covering mortgage contributions, how equity is calculated where one party contributed a larger deposit, or what happens if one party moves into a home already owned by the other.
- Future assets, including expected inheritances or business growth, and how these will be treated on divorce.
- Protecting assets intended for children from previous relationships.
When Is A Prenup Binding?
The courts will look carefully at how an agreement was arrived at before deciding what weight to give it. Both parties must give full financial disclosure of all assets, income, and liabilities; the agreement must be signed no fewer than 28 days before the wedding; each party must have had the opportunity to take independent legal advice from a separate solicitor; and the agreement must be correctly executed as a deed. An agreement rushed through in the weeks before the wedding, signed without legal advice, or based on incomplete disclosure is far less likely to be upheld than one that fulfils all the criteria.
A prenuptial agreement signed before children arrive or before significant assets have been accumulated may not adequately reflect your financial reality years later. A postnuptial agreement, which operates in exactly the same way but is entered into after the wedding, can be used to update the original terms or to put arrangements in place where no prenup existed.
Our Approach
At Johnson Astills, we take a constructive approach to all family law issues. Several members of our family law team are members of Resolution, a specialist organisation committed to reducing conflict in family law through constructive methods such as collaborative law. That ethos informs how we approach prenuptial agreements, which is as a sensible, forward-looking process that both parties can engage with constructively.
If you would like advice on a prenuptial agreement, whether you are the party proposing one or the party being asked to sign, contact our family law team today. If you are unsure how to feel about being asked to sign one, read our guide on whether you should be offended by a prenup.
Please call us free now on 0800 059 0600 or complete a Free Online Enquiry and a member of the team will get back to you soon.
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