A nuptial agreement can be a pre-nuptial (before the marriage) or a post-nuptial agreement (after the marriage). Civil partnership agreements (pre-civil partnership and post-civil partnership agreements) are treated in the same way and all information on this page and corresponding brochures is applicable to civil partnership agreements too.
Whilst nuptial agreements are not binding on the courts,
they are likely to be upheld if certain
requirements have been met. Requirements
include the terms of the agreement being fair and that
the agreement must have been entered into without
duress. It is also essential that the agreement is signed
in reasonable time before the marriage and that before
entering into the agreement, both of you should have obtained independent legal advice and that there must be full and frank disclosure.
Providing these requirements are met, you can be
reasonably certain that the agreement will be upheld by
the English court.
In the case of a pre-nuptial agreement, we would
advise you to have an introductory meeting with us as
soon as you can with the idea of us drafting the
agreement 3-4 months (or preferably earlier) before
your wedding date. This gives time for any negotiations.
If the agreement is not signed at least 28 days before
the wedding, it may be given less weight. In this event
we might then advise you also to sign a post-nuptial
agreement.
If you are considering moving abroad or have a connection to another country or several countries (for example assets held in another
jurisdiction) then there could be international considerations that we will discuss with you. We are able to make sure that any nuptial agreement is personalised to meet your and your families’ needs. If you are moving to England and hold a foreign nuptial
agreement we can also advise you. The English court is
not bound by foreign nuptial agreements and will only
apply English law. Whether your foreign nuptial
agreement will be upheld (in full or in part) will very
much depend on the circumstances of its creation and
whether its terms are fair from an English law
perspective.