With the summer sunshine fully in swing, the wedding season has well and truly begun and many couples are praying for the sunny weather to continue for their big day.
Vogue Williams and Spencer Matthews (of Made in Chelsea fame) have recently married in Scotland. Ariana Grande has announced her engagement to comedian Pete Davidson and many others are starting to prepare for their special moment. So what do you do if you want to protect your assets?
Tom Fisher, Family Law Solicitor at Jackson Lees discusses everything you need to know about prenuptial agreements (also known as prenups) and why you should consider putting one in place before your big day.
A prenup is a formal, written agreement between a couple prior to their marriage. It sets out ownership of all your belongings (including money, assets and property) and explains how it will be divided in the unfortunate event of the breakdown of your marriage.
British courts now recognise prenups, but they still have the discretion to waive any pre or postnuptial agreement, especially if it’s deemed to be unfair to any children of the marriage.
Every prenup is tailored to a couple’s particular circumstances; however it will usually contain a detailed list of each partner’s assets, and details of how they are to be dealt with in the event of a marriage breakdown.
It may also set out post-divorce financial arrangements for children, particularly in marriages where one or both partners already have children from previous relationships. Courts will pay particular attention to any matters relating to children, and are unlikely to support any terms in the agreement that are deemed to not to be in the best interests of a child.
There are a number of factors that need to be in place when you enter into a prenup. When considering if the agreement is fair and should be upheld, the court will look at things such as whether both parties understood it properly and if they had enough time to review it before signing.
We can help you decide if you require a prenup. While prenuptial agreements are now legal and enforceable in the UK, they can still be overwritten or even thrown out of court, so it is important that yours is prepared properly.
If you would like to talk to one of our specialist family law advisers, please contact our Liverpool and Wirral experts by clicking here for a call back or message us your enquiry.