Pre Nuptial Agreements

In this article, prenup agreement solicitor Robin Charrot looks at how to get a prenup. Contact Evolve Family Law for prenup legal advice. Getting a prenup There are a few basics to think about if you want a prenup: Find a family law solicitor with prenuptial agreement expertise. Give yourself sufficient time to broach the subject of signing a prenuptial agreement with your partner. Instruct your family lawyer early enough so they can advise you on the agreement, negotiate the terms and finalise it at least 28 days before the wedding. An effective prenuptial agreement takes time to prepare; it isn’t downloaded off the internet and should not be rushed. Remember, your partner will also need time to consider the benefits of a prenup before being rushed into signing. Choosing a family lawyer for prenuptial agreement advice Choosing a lawyer for prenuptial agreement advice is harder than it sounds. Although most family law solicitors can advise on relationship agreements, you want a lawyer who: Will advise you on the fairness aspects of the prenuptial agreement – the lawyer’s advice may seem contrary to your interests or those of your family, but it is not. Has substantial experience in financial settlement negotiations and court representation and therefore understands how the court will assess needs when making a financial court order in a financial remedy application. Is empathetic and able to negotiate with sensitivity to the situation. At Evolve Family Law, our prenuptial agreement solicitors understand that you need expert family agreement legal advice, but you don’t want your relationship and marriage plans jeopardised by lawyers taking a bullish attitude in letters or roundtable negotiations about what should go into the prenup. Are prenups unromantic? One of the issues about getting a prenup is the fear that you will be labelled as unromantic and that will cause your fiancée or fiancé to have doubts or cast a pall over the wedding preparations. Whilst prenups may not be romantic, they do show that you care and that you are taking your marriage seriously. That’s because a prenuptial agreement must be ‘fair’ to both husband and wife or to both civil partners for it to be effective. Therefore, if you are the financially weaker party to the marriage or civil partnership, the suggestion of a prenup, whilst not romantic, offers peace of mind and a degree of financial security. When family members are taking the first steps to your getting a prenup. Our prenuptial agreement solicitors are often approached by third parties making initial enquiries to help an engaged couple get a prenup. There can be many very valid reasons for this, such as: Parents want to protect the deposit on the family home because they gifted the deposit money to their son or daughter. Grandparents intend to make lifetime giftsto a grandchild as part of estate planning and want to keep their gifted money ‘in the family’. A parent or grandparent, having transferred assets to a child to avoid care home fee issues or to minimise inheritance tax, wants to ensure that the transferred property is ring-fenced in the prenuptial agreement. A family member who has transferred shares in a family business to the younger generation as part of business and retirement planning wants to safeguard their gift. The trustee of an onshore or offshore discretionary trustwants to protect beneficiaries because the trustees anticipate making future capital or income distributions. A family member has left a substantial legacy in their Will to the fiancée and wants to ensure that the legacy is protected through ringfencing by the fiancée getting a prenuptial agreement. A parent or family member has been through a difficult divorceand wants the engaged couple to have a prenup to ensure that they don’t end up in a bitter and expensive court battle over how to split their assets. A parent or other family member is from a country where prenuptial agreements are commonplace. An accountant, financial advisor or other professional whose job is to provide their client with financial protection wants to ensure their client receives specialist prenup legal advice. For example, a sports agent whose young client is a high-earning sportsperson with a time-limited career or a financial advisor whose client has won the lottery or received a personal injury compensation award.   Sometimes, a fiancé or fiancée, who is the financially weaker party to the forthcoming marriage, may actively seek a prenuptial agreement to show they are not a gold digger and are not marrying for financial reasons. Equally, the financially stronger party to the engagement may want to protect their partner by providing the security of a prenuptial agreement that meets their needs should the couple decide to separate after their marriage. How to get a prenup The often-asked question is ‘how to get a prenup’, whereas the question really is ‘how do I get my partner to agree to a prenuptial agreement and how do I tactfully raise the topic?’ Every couple is different, so what works for one won’t work for someone else. Prenuptial agreement solicitors say it is best to avoid the topic whilst on bended knee or when saying yes to a marriage proposal. Equally, it is best not to leave the question of a prenup to the last minute when you or your partner is stressing about wedding arrangements and last-minute preparations. For a prenup to carry weight with the family court in any future financial remedy application proceedings, it should ideally be signed at least 28 days before the wedding. That means the topic of the prenup agreement must be raised well in advance of the wedding date so the agreement's contents can be fully discussed and negotiated. One of the best ways to raise the topic of a prenup is in a general discussion about your future together. For example, you may be planning to move in with a partner, buy a house together, or start a family. Another option is to raise the topic of a prenup during discussions about post-marriage financial planning. This could include conversations about: Writing a new Will. Signing a new Lasting Power of Attorney. Taking out additional life insurance or critical illness insurance. The key point about a prenup agreement is that it should protect both of you; it must be fair and meet both of your respective needs to be given weight by the family court.   [related_posts]   Conditions for a prenup Prenuptial agreement solicitors say that unless an engaged couple comply with certain conditions, the prenup may carry little or no weight in any future financial court proceedings. The conditions are: The prenup must have been freely entered. The implications of signing the prenup were understood. Both signatories to the prenup provided financial information about their assets, income and any debts. Both parties took Independent legal advice on the prenup. The agreement is not significantly unfair to one spouse or civil partner. Ideally, the agreement was finalised at least 28 days before the wedding.   Prenuptial agreement solicitors say that if you are interested in learning more about signing a relationship agreement, the best way forward is to have a chat with an expert so you get a better idea of how a prenup may help protect your family. Northwest family law and prenuptial agreement solicitors For legal help with a prenuptial agreement, call Evolve Family Law or complete our online enquiry form.

Prenuptial agreements are financially prudent and the sensible, if unglamorous, part of wedding planning.​ In this blog, our family agreement solicitors examine whether a prenuptial agreement is binding in the UK. Contact Evolve Family Law for prenup legal advice.   What is a prenuptial agreement? A prenuptial agreement is an agreement an engaged couple can enter into before their marriage, outlining what will happen with their assets if their relationship breaks down and they separate or divorce. A prenup should be bespoke to you and your financial and personal circumstances. You could choose a comprehensive agreement that covers all aspects of your finances or use the prenup to: Record what assets you both agree are family assets or non-family assets. To ringfence specific assets so your spouse will not be entitled to ask for a share of those assets. Record which court jurisdiction will be used to obtain a divorce and financial court order. Specify how you will resolve any disputes if your marriage breaks down, such as the use of family arbitration. Specify the financial settlement and how assets will be divided and needs assessed if the relationship breaks down. What assets can a prenuptial agreement protect? The assets you or your fiancée may want to ringfence and protect from future financial claims include: A property bought before your marriage or a buy-to-let property portfolio. Your pension if significant pre-marriage contributions were made into the pension fund. Lifetime gifts received from parents and grandparents. Shares in a family business. Savings and investments. A legacy or future inheritance. A distribution or future distribution made by the trustees of a discretionary trust. A financial settlement received after your divorce from your first husband or wife. A lottery win. A personal injury compensation award. Property or assets transferred into your name by parents as part of their care home fees planning strategy. If you do not have any of these assets, a prenup can still be useful if you or your partner is likely to receive an inheritance or is the beneficiary of a discretionary trust. Your fiancé or fiancée may be unsure about what a prenuptial agreement does and its status if you separate. They may therefore be wary about signing the document, especially if you have had time to consider what you think should be included in the agreement, but they have not. It is best not to make assumptions about your partner’s understanding of what a prenuptial agreement is and will do.   Prenuptial agreements and UK family law Family law in England and Wales does not make prenuptial agreements automatically legally binding on the parties. The law on financial settlements after divorce is contained in the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and in case law that judges should follow when making financial settlement rulings. The landmark Supreme Court case of Radmacher v Granatino in 2010 remains the leading caselaw on the treatment of prenups in financial remedy applications. In summary, if a prenup was entered into freely and with full understanding, the courts should give it decisive weight, provided that its terms are fair and meet both spouses' needs. Prenups, although contracts, are different from commercial contracts, where there is certainty that a court will uphold the terms if it finds that a contract was entered into between the parties. The legal status of prenuptial agreements and their enforceability A prenuptial agreement is a contract. Although it lacks a statutory or legislative basis, it has legal status through case law, particularly the leading Radmacher court case. In the Radmacher case, a French husband and a German wife entered into a prenuptial agreement before their marriage. The agreement said neither the husband nor the wife would make a claim on the other’s property if they divorced. The husband made a financial claim in England as the English court had jurisdiction. The wife argued that the prenuptial agreement should bind the husband, but the husband said it was unfair because circumstances had changed: the couple had two children, and he had not received legal advice or financial disclosure before signing. The Supreme Court said that a court deciding on a financial settlement in financial remedy proceedings should uphold a prenup if it was ‘’ freely entered into by each party with a full appreciation of its implications, unless in the circumstances prevailing it would not be fair to hold the parties to their agreement.” Since the decision in Radmacher, there has been a series of court decisions on whether a spouse should be bound by the terms of the prenup, with spouses challenging the agreement on: The prenup safeguards in Radmacher and subsequent case law were not met, or The terms of the agreement were not fair or did not meet reasonable needs. A specialist prenuptial agreement solicitor can help draft an agreement that meets the requirements for a prenup to be effective and, using their expertise and experience in negotiating financial settlements, to try to ensure that the court will conclude the agreement meets the parties' reasonable needs or will give the agreement sufficient weight to limit the size of the financial settlement compared to the financial court order the court would have made if the couple had not signed a prenup. [related_posts] Case law considerations for an enforceable prenup Case law recommends that couples and their prenuptial agreement solicitors follow certain requirements. If they do so, there is a greater likelihood that the court will issue a financial order in accordance with the terms of the prenup. There are no guarantees, as every decision is case-specific. However, a specialist prenup lawyer can advise on the requirements that will cause the greatest issues, such as fairness and needs. The five requirements for a prenup to be upheld or given weight in financial remedy proceedings are: No coercion. Independent legal advice. Financial disclosure. Signed at least 28 days before the wedding. Terms are fair, and needs are met.   No coercion means the prenup must have been entered into voluntarily. Both parties taking independent legal advice and negotiating the contents can help establish that the prenup was not forced on one party to the marriage. Financial disclosure may seem an odd requirement, as many engaged couples are reluctant to let family lawyers advise on financial paperwork, fearing that disclosure may unravel an agreement they have reached verbally with their fiancé or fiancée. However, a party to a prenup cannot give informed consent to the agreement if they do not know the value of the family and nonfamily assets, or the likelihood of further wealth through lifetime gifting, inheritance, or discretionary trust distributions of capital and income. The requirement to sign the prenup at least 28 days before the wedding is to prevent agreements being presented at the church door and the financially weaker partner feeling pressured to sign so the marriage can take place. However, some agreements have been upheld even though they were signed days before the ceremony. Every prenup is case-specific, and the court assesses each factor before deciding what weight to give it. Meeting all the requirements significantly increases the likelihood that the prenup agreement terms will be made into a court order or that the court will make a financial order in substantially the same terms. Financial disclosure, fairness and needs in prenuptial agreements The skill in drafting a prenuptial agreement lies in knowing the extent of the financial disclosure required to satisfy a court that both parties understood the other's wealth and expectations, and in advising on fairness and needs. If a family lawyer is advising the financially stronger party to a prenup, it is in their interests to ensure financial disclosure is provided and assets are accurately valued. Fairness and need take experience and expertise to assess. Prenuptial agreement solicitors Although prenuptial agreements are not automatically enforceable as contracts in family law, the court can make a financial court order in the same terms as the prenup, or make a significantly reduced financial settlement compared to what it would have ordered if there were no prenup. When the formalities of a prenup are met and the agreement is carefully drafted to pass the fairness test, a prenup provides security and peace of mind. Our family agreement solicitors can expertly help you finalise your prenup, ensuring the process is straightforward and stress-free so you can concentrate on the enjoyable aspects of wedding planning. Contact Evolve Family Law for prenup legal advice.

In this blog, prenuptial agreement solicitor Robin Charrot looks at the statistics on prenuptial agreements and explains why you should consider signing a prenup or postnuptial agreement. For prenuptial agreement advice call our team of specialist family lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Prenup statistics The research from Handelsbanken Wealth & Asset Management highlights that: Only one in ten couples have a prenuptial agreement Younger married couples are more likely to sign a prenup before marriage Nearly a third of those interviewed didn’t sign a prenup because they didn’t think they would get divorced Prenup research and the relevance of age The Handelsbanken research reveals how important age is to the decision to sign a relationship agreement. Although 89% of couples don’t have a prenup, the statistics are very different when broken down into age groups: 40% of couples aged 18-34 have a prenup 11% of couples aged 35-54 have a prenup 1% of couples over 55 have a prenup What’s concerning to prenuptial agreement lawyers is that according to 2021 statistics from the Office of National Statistics, the average duration of a marriage at divorce was 12.3 years for opposite-sex divorces in 2021. Handelsbanken research shows that, worryingly, those entering second or third marriages or getting married for the first time later in life are less likely to sign a prenup. While anyone getting married should consider signing a prenup, it is especially sensible to do so if you have pre-marriage acquired assets, a prior divorce financial settlement, or children from a previous relationship. Research on why couples don’t sign prenups Prenuptial agreement solicitors are always interested in discovering why people don’t want the safeguards a relationship agreement provides. The research shows: 10% hadn’t heard about prenups 15% thought they would be able to sort things out between themselves 16% were not worried about splitting up and dividing assets 17% thought assets would be split equally 32% thought they would not split up so a prenup was unnecessary The responses reveal that many of those interviewed do not see a prenup in the same way as say life or critical illness policies; a safeguard that you hopefully won't need but comforting to know it is there if you need it. [related_posts] Why you need a prenuptial agreement Let's go through the reasons why people don’t sign prenups and explain why they can be helpful: No need, we agree – when you are getting married and in love you don’t need a prenup. However, at the time of your separation or divorce, when you are likely to have far more in property equity, pensions and other assets, emotions and hurt may cloud your judgment or that of your husband or wife We are not worried – you may not be worried about having a prenup but if you do split up you may regret not signing one. A prenup can take away a lot of the worry and stress at the time of your separation because you are less likely to end up in expensive and lengthy court proceedings over how your assets should be split and if spousal maintenance should be paid No need, it's an equal split – that may be accurate at the time of your marriage but fast forward 5, 10, 15 or 20 years and it could be a different story. For example, you may need spousal maintenance if you have stayed at home to look after children or through ill health or you may want an unequal split if you inherited money during the marriage We won't split up – according to ONS statistics, nearly half of marriages end in divorce. Saying you don’t need a prenup because you won't split up is a bit like saying you don’t need critical illness coverage or a Lasting Power of Attorney because you don’t think you will fall ill. Hopefully, you are right to be positive but insurance, LPAs and prenups all give peace of mind The status of prenups in divorce proceedings Our prenuptial agreement lawyers had thought research would show that people would think a prenup wasn’t worth it as it isn’t legally binding but that did not come out as a major reason not to sign an agreement. It's true that under current English family law, a prenuptial agreement isn’t automatically legally binding on a husband and wife at the time of any future divorce proceedings but the agreement will carry significant (potentially full weight) if safeguards are met. The safeguards are: Fairness - the terms of the agreement are fair to both of you – that’s why you need a prenup solicitor to advise you on the contents Timing -the agreement is signed a few weeks before the marriage Understanding - you both understood what you were signing up for and there was no coercion Knowledge- you both provided financial disclosure to help you decide if the agreement was fair Advice – you both took independent advice from family law solicitors If you didn’t sign a prenup before your marriage you can remedy that now by signing a postnuptial or after marriage agreement. Our relationship agreement lawyers will carefully advise you on the type of agreement you need and the options for what to include in it. We will then provide sensitive advice to help you finalise and sign off on your agreement. For prenuptial or postnuptial agreement advice call our team of specialist family lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

Our family law solicitors are asked if it is possible to divorce your wife and keep everything. In this blog, we explain your options if you want to keep all the assets after your separation. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Can a husband divorce his wife and keep everything?  It is technically possible for a husband to divorce his wife and keep everything but most divorce solicitors will tell you that it is an unlikely outcome in financial settlement negotiations or financial court proceedings unless your circumstances are unusual. If you are a husband your best bet to keep all your assets after a separation or divorce is to sign a prenuptial agreement before your marriage or a postnuptial agreement after your marriage. Even if a wife has signed a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement the document is not legally binding on a spouse under English law. The agreement will carry weight provided both husband and wife took independent legal advice on the contents of the agreement and there was no coercion to sign the document and completion of the paperwork only took place after husband and wife disclosed their assets. If these safeguards were not put in place the court may disregard the terms of the prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. Even if you ticked all these safeguarding boxes, the court may conclude that if the wife gets nothing, as you are keeping everything, the outcome is unfair because the wife’s needs are not being met. The court may therefore disregard the terms of the agreement. A prenuptial agreement solicitor will normally recommend that your prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement does not allow you to keep everything as it is better to have an agreement that works and therefore one that gives your wife a modest financial settlement that meets her financial needs rather than sign a prenup that says you will get to keep everything if you divorce but the prenup then doesn’t work in practice if you split up from your wife. [related_posts] If my wife agrees that I will keep everything, can I get a financial court order? The court can be asked to make an agreed financial consent order. The agreed order is lodged by your divorce solicitor after your conditional order of divorce has been pronounced. The order must be accompanied by a standard court form (called a statement of financial information) summarising the details of your marriage and your personal and financial circumstances. If this prescribed form is not completed the court will not approve your financial court order. If, for any reason, the figures provided in the form are wrong (for example you say your company shares in a family business are worth £10,000 rather than a more realistic 1 million) your wife will be able to reopen her financial claim at a later date because of inaccurate financial disclosure that led to the financial court order being made. Your ex-wife could ask the court to make another financial court order giving her a reasonable share of the assets. Therefore, inaccurately valuing assets on the form does not give you the financial security you need. If the shares in your family business continue to increase in value, then by the date of your wife's further financial settlement application, your company shares could be worth 10 million.  Providing inaccurate information in the court paperwork could cost you a lot of money if your ex-wife is advised to reopen her financial claims. If you complete the prescribed form to accompany your application for an agreed financial court order and include accurate asset figures, and the document shows you will be keeping everything and your wife will be getting nothing, the judge may refuse to make the agreed order. The judge may ask questions in an email or letter to your divorce solicitors or may invite you and your wife and your family lawyers to a court hearing so the judge can understand the rationale behind the making of the financial court order.  You may think that the answer to keeping everything lies in making a deal with your wife that she doesn’t get anything but neither of you ask the court to make a financial court order. However, you then run the risk of your ex-wife deciding to apply for a financial court order at a later date and asking for money or property or a share of your pension. This could work against you if your property or other assets have gone up in value from the date you agreed with your wife that she would walk away with nothing whilst you keep everything. What should you do if you want to keep everything after your divorce?  If you want to leave your wife with nothing the best option is to talk to a family law solicitor about whether you can achieve this and how to do so. Your family lawyer may tell you that it will be an uphill task and that you may be better off focussing on a lowball offer that meets your wife's reasonable needs but is pitched at a level where you can get a clean break financial court order from the family court.  A clean break court order means your wife can't come back later on and ask for more spousal maintenance or a share of your pension or equity in your house. That’s why it’s crucial to secure a court order to give you future financial security so you can plan for your future and not have concerns that your wife years later could come back and ask for money because she had nothing at the time of your separation. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.  

There is still a bit of wariness about raising the topic of a prenup with a fiancée or signing a prenuptial agreement. In this blog, our Manchester family solicitors look at whether a prenup is a good idea.​ For expert family law advice call our team or complete our online enquiry form. Is a prenup agreement a good option? Manchester prenup solicitors are often asked what the point of a prenuptial agreement is if it isn’t legally binding in the English divorce court. However, although a prenup agreement isn’t binding on the English family court, Manchester prenup agreement solicitors say that provided the agreement is drawn up properly it could be given substantial weight. In real terms, if you are a high net worth individual, a prenup could save you millions. If you aren’t a high net worth individual, a prenup agreement is still a good idea because: The prenuptial agreement could ring fence or safeguard pre-marriage acquired assets, such as a family inheritance, a trust fund, a family business or farm, or a pension that you contributed to many years before your planned marriage The prenup could protect children from an earlier marriage or relationship by making sure that if you get divorced your second wife or husband doesn’t walk away with assets that you brought to the marriage or that you need to provide for your children from an earlier relationship If you draw up a prenuptial agreement before the marriage and the terms are fair to both of you the agreement should reduce animosity and legal costs if you decide to separate at a later date   When will a court follow what is in a prenuptial agreement? If you are contemplating signing a prenuptial agreement then it is essential to know when a court will, or is likely, to follow what is in the prenuptial agreement when ordering a financial settlement as part of divorce proceedings.   There are three potential scenarios if you sign a prenup and either you or your spouse later start divorce proceedings: The divorce court ignores what is in the prenuptial agreement – either because the court doesn’t think that the agreement was drawn up with safeguards in place or doesn’t meet one spouse’s needs The divorce court places weight on the prenuptial agreement and although the agreement isn’t followed to the letter the divorce court makes a financial settlement award that is less generous than it would have made had the prenuptial agreement not been signed The divorce court follows the agreement recorded in the prenup and makes a financial settlement and financial court order in accordance with the provisions in the prenup   You are more likely to get the divorce court to follow options 2 or 3 if the court is satisfied that the prenup was freely entered into by each party to the agreement with a full appreciation of its implications unless in the circumstances prevailing at the time of the separation or divorce it wouldn’t be fair to hold the parties to the terms of their prenup agreement. [related_posts] It is often assumed that there is no free will involved in signing a prenuptial agreement as either the intended husband or wife has all the power and the other person feels that they have little alternative but to sign the prenuptial agreement if they want to get married. However, prenup solicitors say that every prenuptial agreement should be freely entered into to avoid the divorce court ruling that one person didn’t understand the agreement and therefore shouldn’t be bound by its terms. To give the prenuptial agreement the best chance of being upheld in any subsequent divorce and financial proceedings, the following requirements should be met: The terms of the prenup must be fair and meet the needs of the parties and any children who are dependent on them. If the agreement isn’t fair, it isn’t likely that the agreement will be fully upheld or even partially upheld. A good prenup solicitor can advise on the fairness principle the divorce court uses to guide you on what provisions to put in the agreement The prenup was entered into voluntarily with no undue influence or duress and of your own free will and signed and executed as a deed There is financial disclosure of each other’s financial circumstances. Financial disclosure is essential even if you are wary about detailing the full extent of your net wealth or your partner is embarrassed about their debts or income. Unless you know what the other has you can’t make informed choices about what should go in the prenup and what would be fair provision if you were to separate The prenup should be signed in advance of the wedding. The recommendation by the Law Commission report is that prenuptial agreements should be entered into at least 28 days before the marriage or civil partnership Independent legal advice on the prenup is taken. That is to ensure that you both understand the legal consequences of signing the prenup and what you might be gaining or losing by entering into the prenuptial agreement   Should I sign a prenup? You should only sign a prenup if you are willing to be bound by the terms of the agreement. You should not enter a prenuptial agreement thinking that you can argue, in any subsequent divorce proceedings, that the terms of the agreement are unfair to you. That argument may not succeed if the agreement was drawn up properly with the safeguards in place.   Likewise, if you have substantial pre-marriage acquired wealth or you want to ring-fence specified assets or you don’t want financial arguments at the time of any divorce proceedings a prenup can be a sensible option for both you and your intended husband or wife. We are Manchester Prenup Solicitors Manchester and Cheshire-based Evolve Family Law solicitors specialise in preparing relationship agreements and advising on prenuptial agreements. For advice about a prenuptial agreement or relationship agreement or other aspect of family law call us or complete our online enquiry form.

It is trite to say that the world is getting smaller but when it comes to family law, it is true as there is an increasing number of UK families with connections to more than one country. That has led to a rise in the number of requests for help from families with international family law concerns or requiring advice on an international prenuptial agreement. For expert family law advice call our team of specialist family lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. International prenuptial agreements As specialist family law solicitors with many years of experience in preparing prenups and postnuptial agreements, we have seen an increase in inquiries about nuptial agreements with an international element, not just from couples who are based in Manchester and the North of England, but also from couples who are based in London and the South East of England wanting expert advice at a competitive cost. That increase in inquiries is down to the following trends: The number of UK residents meeting and marrying partners from other countries The number of couples who own assets overseas such as a holiday home or a business based abroad Couples who are UK based but whose families or family assets are based abroad; normally their families are passing some of their wealth to the marrying couple (to give them a financial head-start, or for tax planning reasons) but the families realise that this wealth is vulnerable to divorce without a prenup in place The number of people who are a beneficiary of an offshore trust The number of overseas families who have settled in the UK but already have a prenup in their country of origin or in the country where they hold assets The law on international prenuptial agreements Although the world is getting smaller divorce law has not been globalised. Divorce laws, practices, and procedures vary widely from country to country. The unwary can therefore falsely assume that having signed a prenup agreement in country A that their agreement will be binding in their spouse’s country of origin B, or if they decide to emigrate to country C. Whenever the prenuptial agreement solicitors at Evolve Family Law are asked to prepare a prenup it is important to ask the right initial questions. For international prenups the questions should include: Country of domicile for both parties to the marriage. This can be different from the country the engaged couple lives in as it is a complex legal concept Countries where any existing assets and property are located Countries where any future assets and property are likely to be located The country or countries that one or both of the couple may relocate to in the future, for example, the plan may be to spend a lot of time in the Florida holiday home To add to the complexities of advising on prenuptial agreements it is important to remember that Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands all count as separate countries. If the answers to any of these questions reveal a foreign connection, it is really important to work out which country the prenup should be based in. For quite a few prenuptial agreements the answer is not England. [related_posts] Getting international prenuptial agreements right Family lawyers should not be wedded to their own jurisdiction and assume that a prenuptial agreement should be prepared in England as that is not necessarily the best decision for a client. It can make a massive difference to how assets are divided if a couple split up without having either signed a prenuptial agreement or if they did not get an agreement prepared in the country that best suits their international links and circumstances. That’s because in some countries prenup agreements are treated as legally binding and in others they ‘are not worth the paper they are written on’. Even if England is the right country for the prenuptial agreement to be prepared in, it is important to think about whether a ‘mirror’ prenup agreement is needed in the other countries the couple are linked to, or at least having a specialist family lawyer in that other country having some input on the wording of the prenup, so that the agreement is executed in accordance with the relevant local law and the agreed country for choice of jurisdiction is recognised. Is an international prenuptial agreement worth signing? With or without international aspects, our family law solicitors are asked if it is worth signing a prenuptial agreement. Invariably the answer is that a prenup is a sensible piece of relationship planning: No one who is getting married thinks their marriage will fail, but almost half do. It is also really helpful for the couple to think properly about their future financial security if things do go wrong. Also, the English divorce courts now rarely go against a prenup that has been put together in the right way. Preparing a prenup includes an element of speculation as who knows what may happen in relation to the couple’s future life together. However, it is normally possible to build in enough flexibility to deal with life changes. If life takes an unexpected course, such as a return to the UK after a marriage abroad with a foreign prenup, it is as well to dust off the document and get some advice on whether it remains fit for purpose. For expert family law advice call our team of specialist family lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

Every fiancée (or rather their family solicitor) should ask the question, “What happens if you sign a prenuptial agreement and your husband dies?’’ before a prenuptial agreement is signed. This is because although prenuptial agreements record how assets will be divided should a couple separate or divorce, the agreement can also set out how much a spouse will receive if their husband or wife dies. The prenuptial agreement could state that a spouse cannot make a claim against the estate if the will is consistent with the terms of the prenuptial agreement. Many people query the point of putting in details of what a husband or wife will receive following their spouse's death, in the prenuptial agreement. After all, prenuptial agreements are about separation or divorce and wills are for death and estate planning.  However, as Manchester divorce solicitors we normally say that it is a good idea to detail what provision will be made available to a spouse in the event of a death. This is especially the case where there are children from earlier relationships to consider or where a spouse does not plan to leave their entire estate to their husband or wife. The Case of Mrs Hendry The widely reported case of Mrs Hendry is an excellent example of why it is important to have a prenuptial agreement and how it can assist if there is a claim against the estate. Mrs Hendry came from the Philippines to marry her husband. Mr Hendry already had two adult children from a prior relationship, the youngest of whom was twenty-one at the date of Mr Hendry’s death. The marriage between Mr and Mrs Hendry did not last. Mrs Hendry filed for divorce and asked the family court to give her half of Mr Hendry’s assets. Mr Hendry died before the family court decided how the money should be divided. Mr Hendry’s will left his estate to his children and Mrs Hendry was left a small pension. Negotiations started between Mrs Hendry and the two children. Mrs Hendry wanted half the estate of her late husband. The children initially offered her what she would have got under the couple’s signed prenuptial agreement. They later offered her a third of the estate. Agreement could not be reached between the widow and children, resulting in Mrs Hendry making a claim against the estate. Mrs Hendry asked the court to make ‘’reasonable provision’’ for her from the estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. The judge rejected the claim because Mrs Hendry had not made the application within the six-month deadline from the date of grant of Probate. What makes the case interesting to Manchester divorce solicitors and lawyers advising on wills and claims against estates is that Mr and Mrs Hendry signed a prenuptial agreement prior to the marriage. The prenuptial agreement said, in the event of a divorce, Mrs Hendry would get a payment of £10,000 and a one-way ticket back to the Philippines. It is not clear from the media court case reports what, if anything, the prenuptial agreement said about what would happen if Mr Hendry predeceased Mrs Hendry. However, the judge dealing with the estate claim commented on the fact that the prenuptial agreement only made limited financial provision for her. In the case of Mrs Hendry, she was time barred from making a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. However, if she had not been time barred, the fact that she had signed a prenuptial agreement and was separated from Mr Hendry at the time of his death would have been weighed up, together with  the circumstances surrounding the signing of the prenuptial agreement and the needs of Mr Hendry’s children. [related_posts] What can we learn from the case of Mr and Mrs Hendry? There are some simple lessons we can take from this particular case: The importance of signing a prenuptial agreement, and preferably detailing what provision should be made on both divorce and death for a spouse (the estate provision is normally more generous if the couple are living together at the time of the spouse’s death); The need to review wills after a separation or divorce and, if necessary, amend them and/or provide a letter of explanation for testamentary bequests; The importance of complying with deadlines if you want to make a claim against an estate and the benefits of taking specialist legal advice.   For help with prenuptial agreements and financial settlements on divorce or claims against estates please contact us