Sea Side Scrap Book » Rise Of The Pre-Nuptial Agreement

Rise Of The Pre-Nuptial Agreement

Pre-nuptial agreements have historically not been considered in England and Wales. But now rich husbands and wives have the chance to protect their fortunes in the event of divorce as some of the country’s most senior judges upheld the validity of the agreement on a landmark case.

A pre-nuptial agreement is a relatively new legal clause which is entered into before marriage. This can exclude a partner who has been adulterous or broken other areas of their marriage contract from entitlement to any of their partner’s assets if a marriage breaks down.

While many lawyers welcomed the long-sought clarification on the laws others warned that the judgement could establish a “rich man’s charter” for the protection of wealth of the richer partner. The ruling at the UK’s Supreme Court came after German paper company heiress Katrin Radmacher’s ex-husband failed in his bid to be awarded a greater chunk of her 100 million fortune.

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The UK now adheres to the same rules as the US and Europe, where there have been a series of bizarre high profile pre-nupt cases. In 2008 a newspaper investigation discovered that some of the stranger clauses in pre-nuptial agreements included the right to conduct regular drug tests on the spouse with financial penalties if they failed, a $100,000 bonus every time a partner was unfaithful and even a 120 lbs limit on a wife’s weight.

Unsurprisingly Hollywood presents us with the most elaborate agreements. According to reports Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas have agreed that she would be entitled to $1 million for every year they spend together should they ever divorce.

The Radmacher ruling has completely changed Britain’s stance on pre-nuptial agreements, and the Law Commission is now set to investigate whether a change in divorce law should be made to accommodate for fully legal pre-nuptial agreements. They will issue the report in 2012.

If you need advice or representation on any aspect of family law, contact Family law solicitor Manchester and Macclesfield solicitors Hague Lambert now.