Words: Matthew Godden, Partner and Advocate at Le Gallais & Luce
The wedding dress, the venue, the guest list, the photographer, the cake, these are just some of the many things that need to be organised before the big day and now it is becoming more commonplace to add another to that list – the prenuptial agreement. According to the New Marriage Foundation research one in five weddings in the UK now start with a prenup and a YouGov poll in 2023 found that 42% of British people consider prenups a good idea, compared with 13% who consider them a bad idea.
A pre-nuptial agreement is an agreement made by a couple before they marry or enter into a civil partnership, which sets out how they wish their assets to be divided if they should divorce or have their civil partnership dissolved. The agreement sets out what will happen to assets that were purchased both before and after the marriage and assets held in both sole and joint names in the unfortunate event the marriage breaks down and ends in divorce.
Prenuptial Agreements are understandably viewed by many as unromantic and contrary to the very notion of marriage. Talking about the possibility of breaking up is a conversation that many people don’t want to have before they are about to tie the knot but the reality is that on marriage as well as the loving commitment you are making to each other you are also making a contractual commitment – yes that makes marriage sound like a business arrangements which of course it’s not but fact is that it is estimated that the divorce rate in the UK is around 42%; nobody gets married to get divorced but it is sadly something that happens.
The happiness of a wedding day could be followed in years to come by arguments about finances and financial disclosure, about what should happen with the monies that were inherited or gifted to one party by a grandparent or parent and for some couples they may rather set out clearly at the outset what will happen in that eventuality. With a prenup in place you can determine how your wealth should be split yourself, rather than, should you get divorced and be unable to reach an amicable agreement, leave it in the hands of the Court. A pre-nup can reduce potential conflict.
Prenuptial agreements are most common when people are getting married for the second or third time as they may want to protect assets they have acquired as part of their divorce or when they have inherited or may inherit from their family. Prenups can cover anything from money to property to belongings, they can include pre-marriage assets, inherited wealth and also future assets such as expected inheritance. It doesn’t matter whether the value is millions, thousands or just sentimental.
A few key points to consider in relation to pre-nuptial agreements:
You should ideally enter your prenup at least 28 days before your wedding day.
You will both need to get legal advice so you understand what you are signing.
The agreement must be entered of your own free will.
Both parties will need to disclose all their finances.
What is fair at the time you enter the pre-nup may not be fair in the future so you should keep it under review. The most obvious example of this is children, a pre-nup that does not take into account children may well not be upheld by the Courts.
Pre-nuptial agreements are not automatically enforceable in the Jersey court, the fairness of upholding any particular agreement will be considered by the court on a case by case basis. In the absence of circumstances which would make it unfair, it may well be upheld.
If you want to know more about pre-nuptial agreements including the fixed fee packages Le Gallais & Luce offer, or have any questions about any family law issues, please contact Matthew Godden at family@lgl.je or by phone on 01534 760760.
