A Prenuptial Contract - Things You Need to Know

A prenuptial agreement, antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement, commonly abbreviated to prenup or prenupt, is a contract entered into prior to marriage or civil union by the people intending to marry. Usually a prenup provides for division of property and spousal support in the event of a divorce.

Prenuptial agreements set out before marriage how the wealth and assets of both parties will be split in the event that the relationship goes down the toilet.

Many countries, including Canada (Quebec), France, Italy, and Germany, have matrimonial regimes, in addition to, or some cases, in lieu of prenuptial agreements.

As of 2007, England and Wales do not enforce prenuptial agreements, but agreements may be upheld at the judge’s discretion. These countries also do not have a provision for marital regimes.The times they are a changing. There has been a “sea change”

The Crossley case in the UK now highlights the fact that premarital agreements are being recognised in the English courts and, if properly constituted, are difficult to wriggle out of. In the past prenups were perhaps entered into in the hope, rather than belief, that they would be binding. Now they offer real protection.

Courts “are looking closely at prenuptial agreements and want good reasons — such as children or significant changes in a person’s circumstances — to depart from them”.

So who should go for a prenup? They are suitable for a wide range of people, including:-

• international clients used to prenups in their home jurisdiction
• second-time rounders, in their forties and fifties, who want to provide fully for children of the first marriage and protect their own assets (sometimes against gold-digging former husbands when they meet someone wealthy)
• gay and lesbian clients who may have cohabited for years and now enter civil partnerships
• and those not necessarily “mega-wealthy” who favours “self-determination” and taking control of how financial issues might be resolved on divorce.
• business men and women used to binding agreements in their working lives
• professionals, young City entrepreneurs in their twenties making money through work, skill and some luck

Marriage and civil partnership are a huge commitment, and people find that using sensitive lawyers, often with a mediation or collaborative background, the whole process can be part of marriage preparation in thinking about and deciding together — rather than having unintended legal solutions imposed on them.

So if prenups are such a good insurance policy, why not make them legally binding?

With hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, Hollywood stars are not inclined to risk it all on what might be a very short and misguided marriage followed by a very expensive divorce.

Of course it is not only Hollywood stars who need to think about prenuptial contracts - Paul McCartney and Heather Mills famously signed no prenuptial agreement and rumours are rife that this acrimonious split could potentially see Ms Mills walk away with over

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