Have you ever thought about what would happen to your wealth if you were to marry or enter a civil partnership, and then get divorced?
Under the present law, you could lose half, or more, of your assets to your “ex”, but you can take steps to reduce the chances of this happening by entering into a pre-nuptial agreement. A pre-nuptial agreement will set out who will get what in the event of a divorce.
Before entering into the agreement, you will both need to disclose your assets fully, and have independent legal advice. You need to set out, not only that they want to enter into an agreement, but why; for example protecting an inheritance or business interests or to cover the future needs of adult children. It is important that every foreseen eventuality is covered; otherwise it is very easy to set the agreement aside and for one party to ask the court to disregard it.
The agreement will be viewed by the courts as an important indication as to what was in your minds when you married or formalised your partnership, which is likely to influence their decision. The more detailed the agreement is, the more weight the court will place on it and the more likely it is to be held binding upon the parties.
A pre-nuptial agreement should be discussed at an early stage before the wedding; the day before is definitely too late!
