Important Points For Your UK Pre-nuptial Agreement

Whilst most of us in the United Kingdom are at least becoming more familiar with the concept of a pre-nuptial agreement, confusion still reigns over exactly what they are - and are not.

The first important point is that a UK pre-nuptial agreement can only deal with finances, property, debts and disputes when ending a marriage. It can not touch issues of child custody or support, visiting arrangements or anything unfair or illegal.

Although somewhat naively seen as being unromantic by many couples, a good example of a Uk pre-nuptial agreement looks after important detail whilst preserving the love between the two people involved.

How property is divided between the parties can be shown in a pre-nuptial agreement. Commonly it will list all the property that each spouse comes into the relationship with - and will retain if a divorce should occur. A distinction can be drawn here between community and personal property. It can set out who is to receive the property, not only in the event of a divorce but also the death of either partner. The couple's home can also be included.

Debts are another issue that can be sensibly dealt with. A partner may have a completely different view of their loved one's debts when they get together and start planning a future. He or she should consider the fact that a pre-nuptial should not be a problem which divides them, but rather is something which will be forgotten during a successful partnership. But if in the unfortunate position of splitting up that view is not likely to be so generous.

Therefore it makes good sense that if one has debts when entering into a marriage, a pre-nuptial agreement should be used to protect the other party from being held legally responsible for those prior debts as a result of a divorce. A pre-nuptial agreement is also the obvious place to resolve who will be responsible for debts incurred during a marriage - again solving what could be an extremely difficult issue.

A pre-nuptial agreement can also state any maintenance payments in the event of a divorce or who is designated as a trustee for the estate at the time of the death of one or the other partner. The pre-nup can also include what the responsibilities are for each partner during the marriage.

It is also the case that UK pre-nuptial agreements can also be used by gay and lesbian couples. Many thousands of same sex couples have registered their relationships under the UK 2004 Civil Partnership Act giving them the same rights as married couples.


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Thinking of making a UK Pre-nuptial Agreement? Contact Bonallack & Bishop - solicitors who are UK Pre-nuptial specialists. Tim Bishop is senior partner at the firm, responsible for all major strategic decisions. He has grown the firm by 1000% in 13 years.