Pre-Nuptial & Post-Nuptial Agreements

A prenup is an important document that has legal consequences. It works a bit like an insurance policy, helping you and your partner to plan in advance what will happen if your relationship breaks down after marriage. A prenup can make the process of divorce easier, cheaper and less stressful.

A postnup is common where there might be a key change in a person’s financial position during a marriage or civil partnership, such as receiving inheritance or selling a business.

The main reason why people enter into a prenup or postnup is that they have something to protect. This might be a business, property or investment.

Even if you don’t have something to protect immediately, you may be anticipating a future windfall or inheritance and a prenup can help you to plan ahead.

Ideally, you should try to see a solicitor at least three months before your wedding to ensure that the prenup can be signed 28 days before you get married.

While such agreements aren’t legally binding under the law of England and Wales, they can be highly persuasive to a court.

Pre- and post-nuptial agreements aren’t currently legally binding in England and Wales, which means that they aren’t directly enforceable. However, they’re likely to be upheld by the Family Court in the event of a divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership — provided (among other things) that they’re fair and meet each person’s needs. 

Therefore, by entering into a nuptial agreement, you should expect to be held to its terms. 

While there may well be more romantic topics to discuss ahead of your wedding day, entering into a pre-nuptial agreement is a common and sensible precaution if you wish to create legal and financial certainty in the event of a future separation.

As every prenup is a bespoke document, you and your partner can collaborate on what goes into it — and it may even help you to agree some of the financial arrangements for your life together.

The overall cost of a pre- or post-nuptial agreement will depend on several factors, including the complexity of the assets and circumstances as well as the terms of the agreement itself. 

Some agreements may be simple and seek to ring-fence a particular asset, while others may include more complicated financial provisions. The overall cost may also be impacted by negotiations over the terms of the agreement. 

A specialist family lawyer will be able to advise you on the cost of an agreement in your particular circumstances.

There isn’t a time limit on pre-nuptial agreements. Prenups are bespoke documents and can last for the remainder of your lives together. 

Some agreements may have what’s known as ‘sunset clauses’, which means that the agreement falls away after you’ve been married or in a civil partnership for a certain time. Other agreements may have ‘review clauses’, so that they’re revisited after significant events such as the birth of a child.

A family lawyer can discuss all these options with you. 

Prenups can be reviewed or revised following marriage. Some agreements might be reviewed after a significant event, such as redundancy, bankruptcy or the birth of a child.

By reviewing the agreement, you’re ensuring that the terms are still fair and reasonable. It’s essential that any marital agreement meets the needs of any children and their main carer.

Once a couple are married, the revised agreement will then be known as a post-nuptial agreement (or postnup).

In principle, yes — you could draft a post-nuptial agreement without a lawyer. However — given the significant legal consequences of a nuptial agreement — it’s strongly recommend that both parties take independent legal advice from a trusted family lawyer.

It’s a good idea to take legal advice as early as possible following your engagement or decision to marry or enter a civil partnership. 

We’ll aim to have the agreement signed at least 28 days before the marriage or civil partnership takes place. This is designed to minimise any pressure and ensure that everyone has time to carefully consider the terms of the agreement and take legal advice.