A prenuptial agreement, often called ‘a prenup’, is a contract which both parties to the marriage or civil partnership enter into before getting married or entering into a civil partnership. It can regulate how the assets will be held throughout the marriage or civil partnership and, most likely, detail the division of assets should the marriage or civil partnership break down in future.
A similar agreement can be entered into after the date of the marriage or civil partnership; this is simply known as a postnuptial agreement.
Neither is legally binding, as the courts have wide ranging powers when dividing assets during a divorce. However, any court would likely take such an agreement into consideration before making any final decision as it s very clear evidence of what the parties intended to happen before they entered into the marriage or civil partnership.
In order to ensure any agreement is adhered to should matters end up in court in future you should always take independent legal advice, be open about your assets (both capital and income), do not put pressure on your partner to enter into such an agreement, keep the agreement realistic and fair and try to incorporate likely future changes within the agreement.
We have drawn up many such agreements for people across Ormskirk, Burscough, Southport, Skelmersdale, Wigan and throughout Lancashire and Merseyside and have significant experience on advising people in relation to prenuptial and postnuptial agreements.