Category: Cohabitation articles

Talk of the wedding of next year might have been blighted by the question – will William and Kate consider getting a prenuptial agreement?

Since the announcement of the Royal wedding, there has been much speculation about the different backgrounds of the young couple.

Speaking to the Mail newspaper on the Royal marriage announcement, the divorce expert Isabel Thornton told the paper: “In a more typical scenario, where two 28-year-olds are soon to be married and a substantial disparity of wealth exists, one set of parents would undoubtedly be marching their offspring to see the lawyers as soon as possible.”

In October, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Katrin Radmacher, whose ex-husband Nicholas Granatino sued after he found out she was the heiress to a multimillion pound fortune.

The former couple had signed a prenuptial agreement in 1998 in Germany, in advance of their wedding.

The pre-nuptial agreement stipulated that neither party would seek financial gain if they chose to separate.

Nicholas Granatino, an investment banker turned Oxford academic, decided to instigate legal action following his discovery that Ms Radmancher is reportedly worth £106 million.

He claimed that he had not fully understood the implications of the prenup when he had signed it because it had been written in German.

In addition, Mr Granatino claimed that he had not received any legal advice on the prenup.

However, the Court chose to award Mr Radmacher only £70,000 annually, ruling that he was not entitled to a £9.2 million payout from his ex-wife.

The decision will have resounding implications for future cases, overturning the recent trend for high-profile divorce payments worth millions.

While prenuptial agreements have long been enforced across the US, English courts have largely chosen to ignore them.

It is expected that the decision to rule in favour of Ms Radmancher could mean that fewer couples decide to leave the outcome of a possible divorce to chance.

One of the best ways to approach the issue could be to purchase a prenuptial agreement with Lawpack.

Guaranteeing your pre-nuptial agreement with your partner will be upheld has become easier, but the devil remains in the detail.

Lawpack’s Prenuptial Agreement can tell you what to include and exclude in the prenup – couples attempting to allocate ‘taking out the bin’ days and other domestic duties can “run a very real risk” of making their prenup unenforceable.

A pre-nuptial agreement should primarily focus on what will happen to both your assets and your finances.

It can help people find out what they can do with the contents of their shared home, specific gifts, the overall cost of the prenup and what happens to property they have purchased separately.

While it may seem to interfere with the sacred and romantic notion of marriage, it can actually save much heartbreak and acrimony – whatever your income.

Investing in a Prenuptial Agreement from Lawpack could be an economical, sensible option that could save money in the long run.

Related Articles:

• Do I really need a prenup?
• Pre-nuptial agreements to become legally binding
• Prenups: All you need to know…

Published on: November 30, 2010

Prenuptial agreements have been in the news a lot recently, not least amid the tabloid feeding frenzy that has taken place over the Katie Price and Peter Andre divorce.

It was revealed that he had signed a prenuptial agreement so that he would not get any of her financial assets. Any court case that disputes this could focus a lot of attention on the issue.

What seems clear is that the number of pre-nups is very much on the rise. A survey published by Grant Thornton this week showed the prevalence of such arrangements, with 56 per cent of family lawyers stating that they drew up more agreements of this type than any other.

In comparison, 36 per cent of solicitors majored in cohabitation agreements and just two per cent said the bulk of their work involves civil partnerships.

Forensic partner at Grant Thornton Robert Kerr said the recent increase in prenuptials has partly been a consequence of the credit crunch, as partners seek to protect their assets.

He stated: “As more and more couples are bringing more individual wealth into a relationship they are seeking to protect their assets, ensuring that upon separation each leaves the partnership with the assets that they entered with.

“I can only imagine that this trend will continue to rise, particularly in an economic downturn when people will feel increasingly vulnerable about their financial position.”

Of course, pre-nups are not legally binding in the UK, but this can be less of an issue than cohabitation, an area where Mr Kerr said an increasing number of lawyers are asking for more clarification.

He added: “The major issues for cohabiting couples are custody of children, rights and share of property upon separation and the question of inheritance upon the death of one partner.

“In the eyes of the courts ‘common law marriage’ does not hold the same legal rights for cohabiting couples as it does for married couples, however many cohabiting couples often do not realise this until it is too late.”

For those who cohabit rather than marry, putting together a DIY prenuptial agreement to cover any future split may be a particularly useful thing to do, partly because it will ensure that more protection than automatically exists in law is in place, as well as saving the cost of hiring lawyers.

Those who do likewise for pre-nuptials may find this will enable them to carry out a DIY divorce more easily if the marriage breaks up as well, since a prior agreement would already be in place to guide much of the process, leaving fewer details to be worked out.

Of course, such prenuptial agreements can be particularly useful if things go sour, with one extreme case reported this week being that of an art dealer who tried to get a large slice of his ex-wife’s fortune, despite the fact that he is currently in prison for abusing her grandchildren.

The judge ruled out his claim partly on the grounds that it would be “inequitable” for her to make any provision for him in such circumstances, but also because he had signed a prenuptial agreement.

Most marriages that end do not do so in circumstances as bad as something that can see one partner behind bars for serious crimes.

While many are nonetheless acrimonious, the existence of a prenuptial agreement may not just suit those who part amicably, but could also give them a good reason to do so, since arguing the terms of an agreement could seem like a waste of time and effort. It could pave the way for a DIY divorce without the extra cost of getting lawyers involved.

Written by Rachel Crook

Related Articles:

• Do I really need a prenup?
• Prenuptial agreements to become legally binding
• Prenuptial agreements: All you need to know…

Published on: June 10, 2009

Prenuptial agreements are recognised in many countries, but in the UK they have a history of being seen as unromantic by couples about to embark on a life together.

Yet prenuptial agreements are increasingly being taken into consideration by the English courts when they are looking at financial settlements on divorce.

Find out more on when to use a prenuptial agreement, what a prenuptial agreement does and how to make it legally binding.

What is a prenuptial agreement?

A prenuptial agreement sets out the terms upon which you and your partner will separate or divorce. As you make a prenuptial agreement before you marry, the terms are agreed when there is no bitterness between you. So the costs of negotiating a prenuptial agreement are usually far less than the costs of negotiating a divorce settlement, because all the negotiation has already been made.

Want to make a prenuptial agreement? Use our prenuptial agreement download today and save £££s!

What can we include in a prenuptial agreement?

A prenuptial agreement should only deal with financial matters, and not with any personal issues regarding your relationship. If you include personal matters, the court may consider that some of the non-financial clauses render the whole of the agreement void.

What about children?

You should not include arrangements relating to the care of, and contact, with children in the prenuptial agreement. The courts will not bind a child into an agreement entered into by its parents.

A prenuptial agreement, which aims to set in stone arrangements for a child is unlikely to find favour with a judge, especially if it was agreed years before the separation or divorce.

Any agreement you may wish to enter which regulates the arrangements for your children, or other non-financial matters should be put into a separate document and not in the prenuptial agreement itself. This is to protect you from a situation where a judge finds the whole of your agreement unenforceable.

There is no special form for such a document; any simple written agreement setting out your arrangements will be sufficient for the court as evidence of your intentions, should you divorce or separate.

Want to make a prenuptial agreement? Use our prenuptial agreement download today and save £££s!

Is a prenuptial agreement legally binding?

As yet, not in every case, but they do hold great sway with the courts. A recent ruling by the Supreme Court over the German paper industry heiress Katrin Radmacher and her husband has given greater legal status to prenuptial agreements in divorce cases.

Since this judgment, it’s likely that a prenup will be binding providing that both parties have enough information about the other’s finances, and that they both fully understand what they are entering into and what the implications are. There will have to be some fundamental aspect of unfairness about the agreement for a court to decide that it should not be upheld.

Also, the Law Commission is drawing up a draft Bill by 2012 looking into making prenuptial agreements legally binding so it’s likely that prenuptial agreements will have official legal status in the next couple  of years.

Find out more about prenuptial agreements becoming legally binding here.

Do we need to take legal advice when making a prenuptial agreement?

Both of you should take independent legal advice before entering into a prenuptial agreement, as it will be easier to persuade a judge to take the prenuptial agreement into account in any divorce proceedings. This means that you should each get advice from separate lawyers.

When should we make the prenuptial agreement?

The marriage ceremony should take place at least 21 days after you both sign the prenuptial agreement. If you enter into the prenuptial agreement less than 21 days before the marriage, it is less likely to be persuasive on a judge, should you get divorced. A short time period between the making of the agreement and the ceremony can be construed as evidence of duress. This can invalidate the agreement.

Ideally, give your partner several months to consider and discuss the agreement with you. If you don’t get married within six to 12 months of signing the prenuptial agreement, you should draw up and sign another one

Want to make a prenuptial agreement? Use our prenuptial agreement download today and save £££s!

Does the prenuptial agreement need updating?

It’s recommended that you revise any prenuptial agreement at certain key points in your relationship to ensure that it’s up to date. You should revise it:

• At regular intervals, for example, every five years.
• If children are born.
• If one of you becomes disabled or unable to work.
• If one of you becomes redundant or unable to find work.
• If one of you retires.
• If one of you inherits any valuable assets.

This means that when one of the above events occurs, you and your partner should renegotiate the relevant terms of the agreement and enter into a new one (i.e. a postnuptial agreement). It doesn’t need to be a complete re-draft , but it should refer to your original prenuptial agreement.

Do you want to protect your assets? Find out if a making a prenuptial agreement is right for you…

Want to make a prenuptial agreement? Use our prenuptial agreement download today and save £££s!

With Lawpack’s prenuptial agreement you can complete the legal form yourself before taking legal advice and save £££s in solicitor’s fees.

Related Articles:

• Pre-nups ‘on the up’
• Do I really need a prenup?
• Prenuptial agreements to become legally binding

Published on: October 26, 2010

Are you getting married and have assets you want to protect? Or have you been married before and are worried about going down the aisle again? Then have you thought about making a prenup?

More and more couples are making prenups before entering into marriage. Recently there has been a dramatic rise in the demand for prenups and, particularly, for second marriages. Recent research, carried out for the law firm Mishcon de Reya, found that 17% of men under 45 now have a prenuptial agreement.

Why are prenups becoming so popular?

High-profile divorces, such as McCartney and Mills, have brought prenups to the fore as now ordinary people are concerned about losing a large part of their assets in a settlement.

Partly this is because divorcees are more wary of getting married for a second time, plus they’re better off so they feel that they have more to lose. Adult children also suggest a prenup to protect their inheritance from their new step-parent.

Often couples use prenups if there is a disparity in wealth, say, if one partner earns a lot more than the other, or one partner has a house and the other doesn’t, or one partner has received an inheritance that they want to protect.

Want to make a prenup? Use our prenup download today and save £££s!

Will a prenup protect your assets if your marriage gets into trouble?

Many people view making prenups as a waste of time and an unromantic thing to do, but although they are not officially legally binding, at present, they are a persuading factor if a case goes to court.

If both parties have taken legal advice, the prenup has been signed at least a month before the wedding, the finances have been disclosed and the contract is deemed fair by the judge, the prenup is likely to be seen as legally binding.

In America and most of Europe, prenups are legally binding, but in the UK we’re playing catch up. However, a recent ruling by the Supreme Court over the German paper industry heiress Katrin Radmacher and her husband has given greater legal status to prenuptial agreements in divorce cases.

Plus the Law Commission, the government’s law reform watchdog, is looking at the circumstances in which courts should uphold prenups between those planning to marry or become civil partners.

The Law Commission aims to draw up a draft Bill by 2012, so prenups should be legally binding within the next couple of years.

Find out more about prenups becoming legally binding here.

Mike Hamlin, partner at law firm Slater Heelis Collier Littler, based in Sale, Greater Manchester, says that although prenups can be criticised for going against the traditional values of marriage, he believes that they simply address issues and protect the interests of both parties:

“Should the marriage end, there would be no need for bitter legal disputes over the dividing of assets” he said.

Assets that are acquired before the marriage and which have been disclosed have an increased chance of being protected if the marriage ends in divorce.

Want to make a prenup? Use our prenup download today and save £££s!

What terms should you include in a prenup?

If you’re making a prenup, it’s advisable that you don’t hold assets in joint names. If you’re going to purchase property in joint names, it’s wise that you register the property as ‘tenants in common’ and that you specify each party’s entitlement.

Find out more about how you should be buying property together here.

Remember that if you are planning to have children, it’s important that this is mentioned in the prenup because a child can change the parameters upon which the prenup was entered into. In fact, it’s always wise to revise your prenup, should you have any children since the making of the prenup.

Read more on when you should revise your prenup here.

Want to make a prenup? Use our prenup download today and save £££s!

With Lawpack’s prenup you can complete the legal form yourself before taking legal advice and save £££s in solicitor’s fees.

Related Articles:

• Pre-nups ‘on the up’
• Prenuptial agreements to become legally binding
• Prenuptial agreements: All you need to know…

Published on: October 25, 2010

A Deed Poll is a legal form. Nothing more, nothing less. It is a legal form that binds you to a defined course of action. And that is to change your name.

That is all a Deed Poll is. A legal form to officially change your name.

Technically speaking ‘Deed Polls’ can be used for other purposes. But in popular usage a Deed Poll simply means a legal form that is used to officially change your name.

If you want to get really ‘legal’ you can say that a Deed Poll used to change your name should be called a ‘Deed of Change of Name’. But we’ll just call it a Deed Poll (it makes things simple).

• Use our Deed Poll Kit to officially change your name right now!

What is on a Deed Poll?

A Deed Poll must contain just three statements. And you must ‘commit’ to these.

1. To stop using your former name
2. To use only your new name and to use your new name at all times
3. To request that all persons use your new name only

You need to sign the Deed Poll. You need to date the Deed Poll. And you need to have your signature on the Deed Poll witnessed.

And that’s it! You have changed your name officially by Deed Poll.

• Use our Deed Poll Kit to officially change your name right now!

Related Articles:

• Why do I need a Deed Poll to change my name?
• Can I use your Deed Poll Kit to change my name?
• Does a solicitor need to register my Deed Poll anywhere?
• Why change your name? And what names can you change?
• Do I need a ‘legal copy’ or a ‘certified copy’ of my Deed Poll?
• Who do I need to tell about my change of name by Deed Poll?

Published on: October 4, 2010