Prenuptial agreement solicitors

Years ago, prenuptial agreements were thought of as only for the rich and famous. There’s a lot of misunderstanding and mystery surrounding them, when really they are appropriate for most couples.

If you are in any one of the following situations involving marriage, a prenuptial agreement could be right for you:

• I am thinking of getting married and want to protect my property in case it doesn’t work out.
• I am about to marry again and want to limit any potential claims on the settlement I received from my first marriage if things go wrong again.
• I am a widow/er thinking of marrying again. I want to protect my assets in case things go wrong.
• I am about to marry but worry that, if things go wrong, we could end up in a costly and lengthy argument about “who gets what”
• I am about to marry again but want to protect my assets to ensure I have something to leave in my will to the children from my first marriage if my new relationship breaks down.

If you are wondering, “How do I get a prenuptial agreement?” then the first step is to consult a solicitor with experience in making these agreements. Both you and your future spouse will need to have independent legal advice before signing the agreement.

Key things to consider are:

• What assets do you have?
• What assets does your partner have?
• What financial needs would you have if you were to separate?
• Do you have any children? If so, what are their current and likely future needs?

You will then need to have a solicitor draft the document for you. Your partner’s solicitor will need to review the document, make sure your partner fully understands the terms and suggest any necessary amendments.

Once you are both happy with the prenup, you will both need to sign it. This should take place at least 28 days before your wedding.

Many of the people we speak to ask whether they can prepare their own prenup, hoping to save money or make the process easier for themselves.

In our view, this is a dangerous course of action. As it stands at the moment, prenuptial agreements are not legally binding documents. However, if you want any hope of having a court take account of the wishes expressed in a prenup, you need to make sure the agreement is prepared in a very particular way. This includes making sure that both parties have had proper legal advice in relation to the agreement.

Without the advice of a legal expert, you could fall into several traps when preparing a prenup. Under what conditions would you want to review the agreement? For example, how will the prenup take account of any future significant financial changes in your partner’s position? What about if you have children and one of you gives up work to look after them? These and many more considerations need to be taken into account if you are to prepare a binding prenup.

So, our advice is always to take guidance from a family law solicitor who’s an expert in prenuptial agreements, whether you choose to have them prepare the agreement or not. And don’t, whatever you do, pay for a templated self-completion prenuptial agreement. It is very unlikely to take account of your unique circumstances and achieve the result you are looking for.

In most cases, both parties will need to sign a prenuptial agreement at least 28 days before the planned wedding date. This is to ensure that both parties are able to receive the appropriate legal advice prior to signing and there is no evidence that either party has been forced into agreeing to certain terms that would disadvantage them.

Depending on the arrangements that need to be made, the terms of a prenuptial agreement could take several months to negotiate and agree. This means that, in many instances, taking the time to agree on a prenuptial agreement far in advance of a wedding date would be beneficial for all parties, ensuring that the process is not rushed in any way.

Yes. However, the primary difference is that an agreement for a civil partnership is known as a pre-civil partnership agreement, or pre-registration agreement.

They work in the same way as a prenup for a marriage, meaning the same parameters apply with regards to what can be included, and what would ensure that it is legally enforceable by the courts.

There are a wide range of advantages to signing a prenuptial agreement. No matter what your personal circumstances may be, they can often prove to be extremely beneficial for the future of your marriage, or civil partnership in the case of pre-civil partnership agreements.

Some of the main advantages of a prenup are that it can:

• Provide certainty that you will be financially secure if your marriage ends in divorce
• Protect the interests of any children
• Avoid questions about either party’s motivation in entering the marriage
• Protect family assets, such as family trusts and businesses
• Make it clear how your mortgage, bills and other outgoings should be covered
• Remove the potential for tension over these issues, both during your relationship and if you separate

While there aren’t really any disadvantages with a properly made prenuptial agreement, some things to consider are:

• You must follow the correct process to ensure the agreement is valid
• The agreement will need changing if you have children after you marry (in which case, you would need to make a ‘postnuptial agreement’ to replace your prenup)
• Having a prenup does not mean you will not need to make a formal financial separation if you divorce – you will still need a financial consent order, including a clean break, to avoid any future claims on your assets