With more people than ever getting married later in life (some for the second or third time), there are often situations where existing assets need to be protected from the possibility of a future divorce – particularly where there is ‘inequality’ in the parties’ respective financial positions.
For example, a divorcee ‘bringing assets or money from their previous divorce settlement into a new marriage; a person who before marrying has managed to buy a property of their own (with or without help from family); or someone who has inherited or due to inherit a significant amount of money.
With some 42% of marriages ending in divorce the question is ‘is it fair for a divorcee to claim a share of assets or money that were built up by their husband or wife before they got together’?
The answer is that in law they may be entitled to share in pre-acquired assets so, to protect those assets, one answer is for the parties to consider entering into a prenuptial agreement. Such an agreement will set out the financial arrangements that will apply in the event of the parties divorcing.
As long as certain requirements are met, the divorce courts now take such agreements into account. The overriding requirement is the agreement must be fair. Also; there must be full disclosure by the parties of their world-wide assets and liabilities; each party must have obtained their own independent legal advice; and the agreement must be entered into a reasonable time before the marriage (to avoid the pressure of being asked to sign the day before the marriage takes place).
A prenuptial agreement can be simple or complicated. For example, it would be reasonable to assume that the settlement in a childless marriage of less than 5 years would be less than that for a 10 year marriage with 2 children, or even a 20 year marriage. Accordingly, prenuptial agreements can be long and with complicated provision for differing scenarios.
We are a team of 5 experienced lawyers but, what makes us different to a firm of solicitors, is that we are acting as divorce consultants. We help people navigate the legal maze and stop them making expensive mistakes. We use our experience of the divorce process to find solutions, lower the temperature and stop people wasting their money.
If you know of someone who may benefit from speaking to us, please tell them to contact me. We do not charge for an initial consultation.