Prenuptial agreements

Until recently, pre-nuptial agreements were scarcely recognised by the courts in seeking to establish financial entitlement upon divorce.

However, a number of recent cases indicate that pre-nuptial agreements will now influence the outcome of financial proceedings ancillary to divorce, provided that they meet certain strict criteria, and particularly in cases where the marriage is of limited duration and where there are no children in the family.

Here’s how we can help

Our team will help in the detailed drafting of an agreement that is entered into before a marriage.

This agreement clearly identifies the assets held by a husband and wife at the time they marry, the basis upon which they hold their assets during their marriage and the basis upon which pre and post-marriage assets will be distributed in the unfortunate event that the marriage ends in divorce.

Each agreement needs to be carefully tailored to the particular circumstances of the case to make sure that it accurately meets the wishes of the parties involved, and the rigorous requirements of the current law.

We’ll work closely with you to make sure that we know your needs and requirements inside out.

For more advice please contact Jonathan Dunkley, call 0191 211 7918 or alternatively email us at advice@muckle-llp.com.

Related Resources

in the Muckle LLP Resource Centre

• What legal status does a common law spouse have?
• I'm married and just want to leave everything to my spouse. We have no children. Surely I don't need to make a will to do that?
• Wouldn't drawing up a cohabitation agreement harm our relationship?
• I'm married with children - what happens to my estate if I don't make a will?