Marital/civil partnership agreements

Pre-nuptial or pre-registration agreements

A pre-nuptial (or pre-registration) agreement is a contract between the parties to an intended marriage or civil partnership that seeks to regulate their affairs in the event that their relationship ends. For the majority, financial arrangements will be the main focus of such agreements, but the parties may also agree in what jurisdiction their divorce or dissolution proceedings will take place.

Pre-nuptial agreements are not formally binding in England and Wales. They have been regarded by the court as persuasive and even 'decisive'; a pre-nuptial agreement may influence the outcome of an application for a financial remedy, either as part of all the circumstances of the case that the court has a duty to consider, or as conduct it would be inequitable to disregard. Following the Supreme Court decision in Radmacher (formerly Granatino) v Granatino [2010] UKSC 42, [2010] 2 FLR 1900, any advice will need to take into account the significant weight given to the pre-nuptial agreement in that case.

Factors that will be taken into account by the court as to whether such an agreement may be upheld include:

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

TAKE A FREE TRIAL

Latest Family News

Family Procedure Rules 2010 Practice Direction Update No 7 of 2024

The seventh Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010) Practice Direction (PD) update of 2024 has been issued, making amendments to six existing PDs and inserting three new PDs. The PD update makes provision for transparency orders where reporters have attended hearings in most types of proceedings relating to a child and in placement order proceedings where the application for a placement order is made within proceedings for a care order. Permanent provision is made to underpin the contested financial remedy online digital service for legal representatives. The pathfinder pilot is extended until 31 March 2026 in existing sites and expanded to additional courts. The pilot for notification to the police of non-molestation orders and of occupation orders with a power of arrest attached is extended until 28 February 2026. Amendments to allow local flexibilities to be adopted in the Child Arrangements Programme are extended until 28 February 2027 and the correct address for filing certain documents with the High Court is updated.

Online Procedure Rule Committee minutes—2024 in review

The Online Procedure Rule Committee (OPRC), established under the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 (JRACA 2022), creates rules governing the practice and procedure for specific types of online court and tribunal proceedings across the Civil, Family and Tribunal jurisdictions (CFT). The OPRC holds regular meetings, for which the minutes are published. This News Analysis summarises the key developments in 2024 and looks forward to potential future developments.

Family weekly highlights—19 December 2024

This week's edition of Family weekly highlights includes details of the Family Procedure (Amendment No 2) Rules 2024, the Law Commission scoping paper on financial remedies on divorce and dissolution and minutes from the Online Procedure Rule Committee meetings. The Family Procedure Rules 2010 Practice Direction Update No 7 of 2024 is also considered. Recent judgements on representation and procedural unfairness, inter-country adoption and strike out of an application for nullity are considered. Three new graphics added to Practice Notes in Family Practical Guidance are also set out.

Law Commission scoping paper on financial remedies on divorce and dissolution

Family analysis: The Law Commission has published a scoping paper on financial remedies on divorce and dissolution. The fundamental question underlying this project was whether the current law ‘provides a cohesive framework in which parties to a divorce or dissolution can expect fair and sufficiently certain outcomes’. The Law Commission found that it does not. This News Analysis considers the background to this project, the Law Commission’s findings and what might happen next.