Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements


Nuptial agreements are increasingly common. They help provide you with security at an uncertain time and help protect your assets.

When a couple plan their wedding day, it's unlikely that they expect their marriage to fail. However, the divorce rate in England and Wales is estimated at 42% and the average marriage duration for opposite-sex couples is placed at just over 12 years. With this in mind, planning for every possibility could be beneficial for both you and your spouse.

If you're considering protecting your wealth ahead of marriage, private wealth protection might be right for you. One type of wealth protection is a prenuptial agreement, also known as a prenup, which can provide certainty if a relationship breaks down.

Mills & Reeve's specialist prenuptial agreement lawyers are experienced in helping clients plan for the future. They will use their skill and practical understanding to guide you through the prenuptial and postnuptial agreement process.

Our global network of contacts and practical experience mean that you'll have access to some of the best legal minds around. You can be confident in our ability to advise you, whatever the circumstances. Get in touch today and see how we can help

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What are prenuptial agreements?

A prenuptial agreement is made by a couple before getting married or entering into a civil partnership. This agreement outlines how assets should be split between the couple in the event of a divorce or the end of their civil partnership.

Prenups are a form of wealth protection that allows you to protect your assets and live as comfortably as possible after a divorce. Any form of wealth or asset that you've accumulated before marriage, during your marriage or even after you've separated can be included in a prenuptial agreement.

They can also be used to confirm what rights children from previous relationships have to certain assets, set out what should happen to you and your partner's assets on death and clarify what should happen to certain assets to protect your children's and grandchildren's inheritances.

What is a postnuptial agreement?

A postnuptial agreement works much the same as a prenup. The major difference here is that it's entered into after a couple is already married or in a civil partnership. In this case, the agreement sets out exactly how assets should be distributed between the couple should the relationship break down. It's a written contract that is signed by a couple during their marriage.

There are several reasons why a couple might decide to enter into a postnuptial agreement after marriage. It may be that the couple already have a prenup and want to confirm that the information in that agreement still stands. In some cases, a couple may decide to take out this agreement after moving to the UK in order to protect their assets should the marriage break down after the move.

Whatever the reason, if you are already married or in a civil partnership and want to plan for the future, our team of prenuptial and postnuptial solicitors can help.

Are pre- and postnuptial agreements legally binding?

In the UK, a prenuptial agreement is not a legally binding agreement. However, if it meets the qualifying criteria set by the Supreme Court, there's a presumption that it will be upheld by the Family Court.

In 2010, the Supreme Court decided that the courts should give more weight to prenups but retain the ultimate decision on whether they should be upheld. The court takes into account whether the agreement meets the criteria and is fair to both parties. This 2010 ruling also set out the circumstances in which a prenuptial agreement should be binding.

Similarly, a postnuptial agreement is not legally binding. The landmark Radmacher v Granatino case ruled that courts should uphold a prenuptial agreement if it's fair - and it follows that any valid postnuptial agreements should also be upheld. Therefore, it's difficult to challenge the terms of this type of agreement.

In fact, postnuptial agreements are more likely to be upheld than prenups because the marriage or civil partnership is already in place. There is no wedding creating a deadline for the couple to sign up. This makes it less likely that the couple is under pressure to enter into an agreement in which they may not be invested.

What is needed for a prenuptial agreement?

For your prenuptial agreement to be upheld in court, these are the main considerations:

  • Both parties must have received legal advice and be fully informed of what prenup agreements involve and understand the implications of the agreement.
  • The agreement must be fair.
  • The agreement must be contractually valid. Therefore, it should be drawn up by a qualified family solicitor.
  • Both parties' needs should be met and they must enter the prenup agreement freely.
  • Full disclosure of all assets at the time that the agreement is drawn up.
  • The prenuptial agreement must have been made at least 28 days before the wedding.

What is needed for a postnuptial agreement?

For your postnuptial agreement to be upheld in court, these are the main considerations:

  • Both spouses (or civil partners) should receive independent legal advice before signing the agreement.
  • The full assets of each party should be disclosed properly.
  • There should have been no significant changes to the financial or family situation.
  • There should be no pressure on either party to sign the agreement.
  • The terms of the agreement should be fair.

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Our pre- and postnuptial agreement lawyers

We have some of the UK's best family law solicitors under our umbrella, with a dedicated wealth protection and prenups team.

Our prenup solicitors are used to preparing strategies for complex situations and we know that there's no such thing as 'one size fits all' when it comes to effective wealth protection. To speak with one of our prenuptial agreement lawyers, get in touch.

What types of clients have we helped with wealth preservation?

Our clients come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Whatever your circumstances, our vast experience means we can draw upon specialist expertise to support you. Some of the clients we've recently worked with include:

  • Business owners and entrepreneurs who are looking to protect their businesses for future generations.
  • Individuals who are marrying for a second time and want to pass on their wealth to their children from a previous relationship.
  • Beneficiaries of trusts.
  • International families where wealth protection has involved co-ordinating advice from a variety of different countries.
  • Couples at the start of their lives together looking for cohabitation agreements and declarations of trust to protect property and financial interests.

Why choose Mills & Reeve for prenuptial agreement lawyers?

Our team of specialist prenuptial agreement lawyers have drawn up prenups for couples in all kinds of circumstances. Here's why you should choose us:


We have everything covered. As well as working with couples to make plans in the event of their relationship breaking down, there are other ways in which we help clients to plan for the future. We can help with wills, estate and succession planning, as well as protecting owner-managed and family businesses.

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Prenuptial and postnuptial agreement FAQs

There are several advantages to taking out a prenup or postnuptial agreement:

  • They help avoid uncertainty and arguments over finances if your relationship ends.
  • They help protect money or assets that you have inherited and want to stay within your family.
  • They help preserve assets for any children from a previous relationship.
  • They help ensure you retain control of a business.
  • They help you protect yourself from liability for any debts your partner has.

To be confident that your prenuptial agreement is upheld in court, both parties need to seek independent legal advice before signing the agreement. This is to ensure that neither of you has been unduly influenced and that you understand how prenups work and the implications of signing your agreement.

A prenup is an agreement designed to regulate what will happen to your wealth should your marriage break down, so there are many reasons why you should consider one. In divorce situations, judges in the Family Court have a very wide discretion to divide a family's finances according to what the court thinks is fair. This includes wide powers to transfer or sell assets and share future income. A prenup narrows that wide judicial discretion.

In many cases, there's an assumption that the fair thing to do is to divide all the assets equally between the divorcing couple, and there may also be a significant element of maintenance to pay. Prenups can be used to:

  • Limit claims to far less than half of all assets
  • To 'ring-fence' specific assets, such as a family business or inheritance, from a future claim
  • To limit the amount and duration of any maintenance

If you have been married before and want to ensure that wealth generated during that relationship passes to your children from it, a prenup could be very useful for you.

Examples of what you might want to include are:

  • Money or savings
  • Property
  • Pension pots
  • Inheritance
  • Business ownership
  • Stocks and shares

Prenups can give you protection from your partner's debts, as well as for your children's inheritance, by specifying which assets should go to them. This is frequently included in prenuptial agreements drawn up before a second marriage.

In some countries, getting advice from the same lawyer for a prenup is standard. In England and Wales, it's normal for each party to have their own lawyer. Couples avoid using the same solicitor when drawing up their prenuptial agreement to prevent any conflicts of interest.

If you decide that having a prenup would be beneficial, it's sensible to prepare and provide all the necessary paperwork, working with your prenup lawyer, as soon as possible to help the process progress. Ideally, the agreement should be finalised and signed at least 28 clear days before the wedding - this helps avoid any arguments that one of you was put under pressure (or duress) by the other to sign the agreement.

However, if you do not make a prenuptial agreement, it doesn't mean you cannot secure your assets. Instead, to do so, you would need to pursue a postnuptial agreement. However, this works in a very similar way to a prenup.

Prenuptial agreements are not legally binding. While such an agreement does involve legal documents that the courts will consider, the decision to uphold the agreement ultimately lies with the courts. They will assess whether the prenup meets the criteria listed above, as well as considering whether it's fair or if it leaves one spouse or civil partner in a financially tricky situation.

Making sure you follow the rules above will help ensure the Family Court gives your prenup the most weight. If, for example, someone's wealth was not fully disclosed at the time that the agreement was drawn up, this will also influence the final decision made by the courts. Similarly, if there's evidence of pressure or threats, this will affect the outcome. This is because each of you must enter the agreement freely.

Examples of what cannot be included in a prenup include:

  • Personal and lifestyle matters.
  • Anything illegal.
  • Attempts to avoid legal obligations.
  • Attempts to avoid practical day-to-day arrangements for any children; for example, who they will live with and where.

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Private wealth Children Divorce and separation International family law Surrogacy and fertility law Unmarried couples Alternatives to court Wealth protection