Postnuptial Agreements & Prenuptial Agreements

Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements

Protecting and dividing your assets fairly

Postnuptial agreements and prenuptial agreements can be put in place to provide a couple with peace of mind. Such agreements can be a sensible, fair, and transparent way for a couple to organise and protect their finances and assets in the future.

What are postnuptial and prenuptial agreements?

A postnuptial agreement or prenuptial agreement is a legal contract between a couple. It sets out the ownership of all of their money, property and other assets. The contract explains how their wealth should be divided between them in the event that their marriage or civil partnership breaks down.

There are many reasons why it might be sensible for a couple to sign up to a nuptial agreement such as:

To protect wealth, inheritance or future inheritance
To ensure that assets are reserved for children from a previous relationship
To retain ownership of a business
To ensure that any debt that is being brought into a marriage or civil partnership is not treated as a joint debt
To ensure that any money gifted by the bank of “mum and dad” remains with the person whose family gifted the money
To agree who keeps the family pet (sometimes called a “pet nuptial agreement”)

Cohabitation agreements

For unmarried couples who are moving in together. These agreements settle the arrangements relating to finances and ownership.

Reasons for a nuptial agreement

Nuptial agreements are not just for the rich and famous. There are many reasons why it might be sensible for a couple to sign one.

Here are a few examples:

To protect inheritance or future inheritance

To reserve assets for children from a previous relationship

To retain ownership of a business

To ensure that any debt that is being brought into a marriage or civil partnership is not treated as a joint debt

To protect money gifted by the “bank of mum and dad”

To agree who keeps the family pet (sometimes called a “pet nuptial agreement”)

FAQs

What’s the difference between a prenuptial agreement and a postnuptial agreement?

A prenuptial agreement is for couples planning to marry or enter into a civil partnership. A postnuptial agreement is for couples who are already married or in a civil partnership.
Is a nuptial agreement legally binding?

Not strictly. Nuptial agreements are not automatically enforced by law. However, the court will give them significant weight and is likely to uphold the agreement, so long as it is fair and it meets the financial needs of both parties.
Is there anything that a nuptial agreement won’t cover?

The agreement cannot cover child maintenance or child arrangements.