Press release

Prenuptial agreements gain a boost says local solicitor

03 March 2009

The status of prenuptial agreements as an effective way of confirming how a couple’s assets should be divided following the break-up of a marriage has received an important boost, according to Julian Scrace, partner and family lawyer with Wycombe solicitors Reynolds Parry Jones.

“In a recent landmark case, a woman who had already accrued some £18 million in divorce settlements from three previous marriages dropped her claim to a share of her fourth husband’s fortune because of the prenuptial agreement she had signed before the marriage,” said Mr Scrace. “This appears to be the result of the fact that judges are taking properly drawn-up agreements increasingly seriously, making the decisions they contain more likely to be upheld than in the past.”

“The process of enforcing a so-called ‘prenup’ is also becoming easier than it used to be” he continued. “In the past, this could be a complex and costly affair that might take weeks with no assurance that it would be upheld. “Now, though, following this case, it can be streamlined into a simple one-day hearing where the prenup is the central focus.”

Mr Scrace is very conscious that protecting wealth by asking one’s partner to sign an agreement in case their marriage goes wrong is hardly the most romantic request. “However, it is a reality that divorce is more common and marriages shorter than in the past” he went on. “Marital breakdown is already painful and stressful enough without the added uncertainty that a serious financial dispute can bring with it, so the prenup is often a sensible and practical means of avoiding further heartache.”

“We, at Reynolds Parry Jones, are very experienced in drawing up effective prenuptial agreements” he concluded. “If you and your partner wish to discuss your situation, simply contact our family law team, where one of our experts will be pleased to advise.”