What is a Pre-nuptial and Post-nuptial Agreement?
16 August 2022
A Pre-nuptial Agreement is a written legal agreement between people who are intending to get married, it is usual for them to have become engaged and have set a date for the wedding. A Post-nuptial Agreement is the same agreement but the parties are already married.
The purpose of both agreements is exactly the same in that the parties may both have assets that they want to protect. It may be that only one party has assets that they want to protect. The agreement sets out that if they were to divorce in the future, how they would share those assets. It is important that before the agreement is prepared, to have a process of disclosure whereby both parties have to fully disclose what assets they have at that time and a schedule will usually be attached to the agreement. It can cover a range of assets so it might be a property, or a pension; it could be capital or a business. It can also deal with future income claims for the parties about or for children.
It gives as much certainty as is possible that if people were to divorce in the future, they have set out how their assets should be shared. The purpose of the agreement is to try and avoid having to go to court and to try and save costly litigation by having to argue about how the finances will be shared.
It’s a really useful agreement generally where people are looking at assets that they may have had before they met and that they would like to protect if the marriage were to break down in the future.
Here is a video recorded by Head of Family Law, Sharon Mckie:
If you would like more information, do not hesitate to contact our Family team on 01302 341414 or fill out our online enquiry form.
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