After being in a relationship for a two years, Monica and Tim decided to get married. Both were in their forties. Tim had been married once before and wanted to be clear on his financial position in the unfortunate event that his marriage with Monica also ended in divorce. Monica’s parents were very wealthy and likely to leave her a sizeable inheritance in the future, so she wanted to ensure that her inheritance was protected from any future divorce settlement. Both Tim and Monica agreed to seek legal advice as to how best achieve their aims and mitigate against the risk of going through a contested divorce in the future.
Monica approached us and we informed her of the possibility of entering into a pre-nuptial agreement. We advised her on the court’s approach to dividing the finances if there were no pre-nuptial agreement and as a result, Monica instructed us to draft an agreement specifying that any inheritance she or Tim receive will be kept separate in the event of a divorce.
Upon reviewing the agreement, Tim’s solicitors added provision for all pre-acquired assets to be kept separate as well, as he owned an investment property which he wanted to keep in the event of a divorce. Monica was happy to agree to this and the pre-nuptial agreement therefore provided for only assets accrued during the marriage to be shared equally on divorce.
As soon as both Monica and Tim were happy with the terms of the agreement, they both signed it, together with their respective solicitors.
Whilst pre-nuptial agreements are not binding in England and Wales, they are a factor that the court will take into account when dividing the finances, and since the agreement was drawn up and entered into properly in accordance with the guidance contained in case law and recommendations from the Law Commission, Monica and Tim should expect to be held to it in the unfortunate event of their divorce. Whilst they both hope that their marriage will last for the rest of their lives, they both now feel secure in the knowledge of what is likely to happen with their finances in the event that they do divorce.
