Financial Settlements

A pre-nuptial agreement is a formal agreement entered into prior to a marriage or civil partnership which sets out who owns what at the time of marriage and also how the couple envisage that those assets should be divided in the event of divorce or separation.

A post-nuptial agreement is exactly the same, but entered into after the marriage or civil partnership. Neither form of agreement is legally binding in England and Wales. However, following the recent landmark Supreme Court case of Radmacher v Granatino, the Court will now attach considerable weight to these agreements and hold parties to the terms agreed unless it can be proved that:

• the agreement was not entered into freely by each party
• the parties did not have a full appreciation of the implications of the agreement at the time of signing it
• it would be unfair to hold either party to the agreement