Alsters Kelley Solicitors, incorporating RJ Kelley and Co and Richards Heynes and Coopers, providing all aspects of Family Law and Pre Nuptial Agreements. Based in Coventry, Leamington Spa and Nuneaton, we are one of the largest solicitors firms in Warwickshire and the West Midlands.
Pre Nuptial Agreements, Solicitors, Lawyers, Legal Services, Coventry, Leamington Spa, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, West Midlands.
Alsters Kelley Solicitors provide legal services including Family Law and Pre Nuptial Agreements. Contact us with your Family Law and Pre Nuptial Agreements needs.
Pre Nuptial agreements are agreements entered into before a marriage to set out the way in which the prospective husband and wife will hold their assets when
they are married and sometimes define what will happen if the couple subsequently separate or divorce. In England and Wales, pre-nuptial agreements are not
binding on the court and they cannot prevent the court from making what it considers to be a fair division of the assets upon divorce.
A pre-nuptial agreement can be taken into consideration when considering how the financial assets are to be divided on divorce. The court will want to determine
whether there was a fair and genuine agreement between the parties. In reaching a decision the court will look at the terms of the agreement; whether the parties
had independent legal advice; whether both understood the other parties financial position and understood the terms of the agreement; how long before the wedding
the agreement was signed and whether there was any particular pressure applied by either party or another person. The court will also consider what the actual
family circumstances are and how they were envisaged in the agreement. If the circumstances at the time of the divorce are similar to those envisaged in the original
agreement the more likely it will be that the terms of the agreement will have some impact on the terms of the order on divorce.
Although English courts are not bound by pre-nuptial agreements some people contemplating marriage may wish to consider making a pre-nuptial agreement. The court
are more likely at the end of a short childless marriage to consider that a fair pre-nuptial agreement signed by the parties freely and with the benefit of independent legal
advice and full disclosure is highly relevant when considering financial settlement on divorce and could form the basis of the court's order. On the other hand the court
would be very unlikely to give any weight to a pre-nuptial agreement in a long marriage or where there are children involved or where circumstances have changed significantly.
