A prenuptial agreement (also known as a pre-marital agreement) is a written agreement made by a couple who intend to get married, setting out what should happen to their finances in the event of the breakdown of the marriage. If an agreement is entered into after the marriage, it is known as a post-nuptial agreement.
Recent changes in case law mean that whilst a pre or post-nuptial agreement cannot be strictly binding, it is likely to be given considerable weight by the Court. That is unless it can be proved that it is a voidable agreement under general principles of the law of contract, or, if a Judge in exercising his duty under Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act asserts it to be manifestly unfair to one of the parties. Recent case law also dictates that to the extent that an agreement makes inadequate provision for a spouse as a parent, this can remedied by making an award on the basis of the child’s needs to last until the child becomes an adult.
As a result an increasing number of couples are entering into pre-nuptial (or post-nuptial) agreements to minimise disagreements if they separate and to exclude ring-fenced assets from division, for example inherited property or assets acquired prior to the marriage or post separation.
