Prenuptial Agreements - Should they be considered
Prenuptial Agreements are now on of the matters a Court is likely to take into account when using their discretion as to how to divide up matrimonial assets. They can include anything at all whether financial or practical they you want to get straight before you tie the knot.

Let me therefore exercise your imagination in the following scenario

A couple, Janet and John, have been living together for 2 years and decide to get married. Janet owns her own flat. John has rented out his small house that he owns and had lived in previously.

John is going to sell his house but he has a daughter to his first marriage and he wants to ring fence part of the proceeds of the sale as her inheritance.

Janet is the higher earner but she is hoping to get pregnant very shortly and may not want to go back to work after a child is born.

A Prenuptial agreement can:-

1.    Ring fence an inheritance for his daughter

2.    Recognise the contributions towards the equity in the flat/future matrimonial home, they are going to share.

3.    Recognise the fact that whilst both parties are working Janet is earning a lot more than John is and therefore contributing more but will not do so if she takes time off to have children

4.    Deal with the situation when her grandma who is sadly ailing, dies, which is likely to be imminent and could leave her something in the region of £200,000.

There may be no immediate answers to the best way of dealing with some of these eventualities but in my opinion it must be healthier to discuss all these calmly and rationally rather then allow misconceptions and resentments to creep in if differing view points have not been aired and resolved.

Both parties to a pre-nuptial agreement do have to take independent legal advice but as long as you each go an see a Family Law Specialist and preferably someone who is a member of Resolution, which is an organisation whose code of practice requires a constructive and consolatory approach to family matters then the process should not be painful or expensive.

If these or any other issues relating to family breakdown are problems for you please contact us on 01423 858582 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
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