A Pre Nuptial or Pre Marriage Agreement is where two people intend to marry and wish to regularise and organise the legal position of their assets if they subsequently divorce.
The current position in the UK is that such agreements are not binding but a factor which the Court may take into account when assessing a financial settlement. This is of course in contrast with American and some European countries where pre-marital agreements are binding. These agreements however, are likely to be of no effect where the parties go on to have children.
It is therefore important to review a pre-marital agreement on a reasonably regular basis and particularly if the parties have children and perhaps consider converting the pre-marital agreement to a post-marital agreement which takes account of the up to date circumstances of the parties.
It is crucial when drawing up a pre-marital agreement or converting to or creating a post-marital agreement that the parties are legally represented by seperate lawyers and in addition there should be complete disclosure to each other of the parties' individual financial circumstances.
Discussions and negotiations of pre and post martial agreements are more commonly being dealt with by way of Collaborative Law. Both parties can negotiate with their respective lawyers face to face and draft their agreement together so there is complete transparency in the transaction. This makes for a more comfortable method of dealing with what is a sometimes difficult situation when couples are taking the intial steps to sort out the financial issues between them prior to embarking on a life together.
For further assistance please contact one of our family team.