In divorces, it can be so easy to lose sight of the bigger picture, and cases very challenging and take up considerable court time, making them very costly.
Prevention, rather than cure, might be the answer.
Prenuptial agreements (prenups), although not legally binding in England and Wales, can be helpful in cases where the couple has high-value items going into the marriage, or is likely to acquire these during. Prenups can outline what should happen to the items in the event of a divorce, especially if they are gifted between the two parties.
If the marriage does break down, the court can take the prenuptial agreement as evidence of the intentions of each spouse. If the individual parties received, at the outset, independent legal advice about the agreement and there was full disclosure of all assets owned by both prospective spouses, the court can uphold the prenup.
There are other criteria which can support the prenup’s status, such as that neither party was pressurised into signing the agreement against their will; the prenup was prepared fully and signed before the wedding or civil partnership; and that during the marriage there has been no substantial change which would render the prenup inappropriate (e.g., the birth of children).
If the agreement seems to be unfairly weighted in any way, the court can reject it.
It is advisable that if a couple has a prenup in place, this should be reviewed throughout the marriage. This is important if there is a change to the assets, which the purchase of luxury items would fall under.
Putting a prenup prepared by a family lawyer in place well in advance of the wedding can be helpful in providing security in the event of break down – especially for high-net-worth couples. Although unlikely to be the first thing on a newly engaged couples’ mind, putting things into place to mitigate risk can save a lot of cost and excessive emotional turmoil in the unfortunate event of divorce.
