A pre-nuptial or civil partnership agreement is a formal written agreement entered into by a couple prior to marriage or prior to entering into a civil partnership which sets out what will happen to their marital assets upon separation.

You may wish to enter into such an agreement if you wish to protect the interests of children from a previous relationship of if your resources are significantly greater than your partner’s. You may seek to ‘ring-fence’ specific assets such as a business, an inheritance and/or an asset of particular importance to you individually.

If you wish to enter into such an agreement it is essential, for such an agreement to have weight, for you each to take independent legal advice and for there to be a full and frank exchange of financial information. Romantically entangled partners do not operate ‘at arms length’. It is therefore necessary that each party has independent representation to give fairness to such negotiations.

It is important to remember that pre-nuptial agreements are not currently legally recognised in the jurisdiction of England and Wales. They are in many other countries. However, in the recent case of Radmacher v Granatino [2010] UKSC 42 the Supreme Court ruled for first time that pre-nuptial agreements should have 'decisive weight' in English divorce courts.

Our specialist legal team has a wealth of experience in drafting these agreements to ensure that they have all the characteristics necessary to be found by the court, in the event of any later challenge, to have ‘decisive weight’. We will include review clauses and it is important to remember that the agreement will be affected by the arrival of any children as a result of the union.

Please contact our Michelle Uppal on 020 7426 0400 for specialist advice in this area.

Or email Michelle at mu@milesandpartners.com