Pre-Nuptial Agreements
The Church and Reception are booked - all your wedding plans are made – should you be considering a Pre-Nuptial Agreement with your fiancée before your big day?
Pre-Nuptial Agreements are useful where one party to a marriage:-
(a) has been married before
(b) already owns their own home either in their own name or with another
(c) has dependants from a previous relationship.
Such an agreement clarifies your shared responsibilities and it can:-
(i) Indicate your preferred financial outcome should your marriage sadly come to an end in divorce
(ii) protect “family” property and inheritances
(iii) prevent one party to the marriage making exaggerated claims against the other should your marriage fail after a short period.
(iv) Indicates the preference for the division of personal possessions, cars etc
(v) Indicate what your rights and obligations should be in relation to any property occupied by the two of you whether owned or rented and how any profit or loss should be split should you separate
(vi) How Bank accounts should be financed and split if necessary
(vii) How pensions, life policies. Family businesses etc. should be divided
It is important should the Divorce Courts become involved that both parties should seek independent Legal Advice in relation to a pre-nuptial Agreement and that each should make to the other a full and frank disclosure of all their assets and liabilities.
Sometimes it is only when couples instruct Solicitors that they become aware of the true financial state of their fiancée. The preparation of such an Agreement can “flush out” one party’s bad debt situation which the other party was unaware of and of which they should be aware before committing to a marriage.
Currently in England (unlike some other Countries) Pre-Nuptial Agreements are not enforceable in the English Divorce Courts but our Courts will consider the same on the basis that the parties have endeavoured to set out and disclosed to each other prior to marriage their financial position and have indicated in such an Agreement what their intentions and wishes are should their relationship break down.
The Court’s decision on whether or not to agree to the terms of such an Agreement will in part depend on how long the marriage has lasted. If the marriage only lasts for say a year then the intentions set out in such an Agreement may be acceptable to the Court. However if the marriage has lasted for a number of years and a child or children’s needs need to be taken into account then the Court may place less weight on the terms of the Agreement reached.
A pre-Nuptial Agreement therefore assists the Divorce Courts in ascertaining both parties’ intentions prior to the marriage and will normally take those views into account so long as those views are not contrary to the laws of our land.
You will find that local Solicitors will be happy to assist you in the preparation of such an Agreement and we would urge you to seek such advice before your wedding day.
Rosemary Smith
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