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To Pre or not to Pre – Pre-nuptial Agreements in the UK

A survey conducted by UK insurance company MORE TH>N has revealed that 55 per cent of men would be willing to marry a woman for financial security alone.

The poll also showed that women are now more inclined to protect their finances with 29 per cent stating that they would consider asking their husband to be to sign a pre-nuptial agreement before marriage and 14 per cent saying that they considered such a pact to be absolutely essential.

This may come as a surprise to some readers in the UK. Pre-nuptial agreements are far from uncommon in both the US and continental Europe. Within the UK, however, they tend to be viewed as preserves of celebrities and the wealthy. In fact, pre-nuptial agreements have generally not been considered to be enforceable under UK law, though this particular fact has become a matter of contention in recent times; all thanks to a German heiress and her investment banker husband.

Katrin Radmacher, the successor to her family’s £100 million fortune, and French investment banker, Nicolas Granatino, signed a pre-nuptial agreement, which stipulated that neither party would benefit financially should they divorce, prior to their wedding in 1998. At first glance, this agreement seemed entirely reasonable. Granatino was relatively well off, the son of a wealthy French industrialist, he also earned £300,000 per year from his employers JP Morgan.

In the latter stages of the couple’s marriage, however, he left JP Morgan and began studying for a doctorate in bio-technology at Oxford University; a position that provided him with only 10 per cent of his original salary. The couple later separated in 2006 and, unsurprisingly, Granatino challenged the aforementioned agreement. Initially succeeding, he was awarded a £5.6 million settlement from the high court. Much drama then ensued in both the court of appeal and supreme courts with this figure later being reduced to £1 million as a lump sum in lieu of maintenance – effectively enforcing the agreement that the couple had signed in 1998 and setting a new precedent within the field of British law.

This does not mean that any pre-nuptial agreement prepared within the UK will be enforceable, however. The nine Supreme Court justices declared that in the right circumstances, a pre-nuptial agreement can be fitting and therefore persuasive.

The President of the Supreme Court did add, though, that courts would still have the power to overturn or waive any agreement if it believed it was right to do so, particularly if it was likely to have an adverse effect on any children of the marriage. In other words a pre-nuptial agreement can be overturned for any number of reasons and, generally speaking, it would be advisable that any individual that wishes to rely on such an agreement ensure that it is reasonable and addresses any possible issues concerning maintenance and childcare.

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