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YOU DON’T NEED TO BE A DUKE TO BE “ELIGIBLE” FOR A PRE-NUP
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YOU DON’T NEED TO BE A DUKE TO BE “ELIGIBLE” FOR A PRE-NUP

By June 6, 2024No Comments

YOU DON’T NEED TO BE A DUKE TO BE “ELIGIBLE” FOR A PRE-NUP

 

The societal wedding of the year is due to take place between the Duke of Westminster and Olivia Henson on Friday 7th June 2024, at Chester Cathedral.

Upon commencing married life, the Duke has publicly expressed his plans to leave the hustle and bustle of London behind and to settle down in the more gently-paced rural countryside of his family seat at Eaton Hall, with a desire to become a farmer full-time.

The Duke was described as one of Britain’s most eligible bachelors with a staggering fortune worth £10 billion. It would not be unreasonable to assume with such wealth that there will have been discussions and advice taken by the Duke in respect of how best to plan for his financial future once he has embarked on married life. It is likely these discussions included the consideration of, but not exclusively, a pre-nuptial agreement.

 

Do I need to be rich to have a prenup?

You don’t need to have amassed a large fortune if you want to protect your assets ahead of your marriage, though. There are no financial eligibility requirements required if you wish to enter into a prenuptial agreement before marriage (or post-nuptial agreement after the fact).

‘Pre-nups’ are a form of wealth protection that may include any assets accumulated before or during marriage, or even after you have separated.  They can include consideration of provision for children resulting from the relationship; children from previous relationships; family pets; income considerations, such as spousal or child maintenance; what happens upon death of either yourself or your future spouse in respect of your assets; and also look at ways to protect assets resulting from inheritance.

 

Are prenups legally binding in the UK?

Although a prenup is not a legally binding agreement, following the landmark Supreme Court case of Radmacher v Granatino in 2010, the Courts will take such agreements into consideration and apply them unless they feel it is unfair to do so.

The requirements for a pre-nuptial agreement to be upheld in Court are that the Courts must be satisfied that:

  1. the parties have entered into the agreement with a full understanding of the implications, which will be greatly assisted by each party having obtained independent legal advice;
  2. the agreement must be contractually valid with it having been drawn up by solicitor;
  3. the agreement must be fair and reasonable with both parties’ needs having been met;
  4. no evidence of duress with parties having been able to enter into the agreement freely;
  5. the pre-nuptial agreement must be made at least 28 days before the wedding (although it is advisable to do so as far in advance as possible rather than to leave it to the last minute); and
  6. that full disclosure of all assets of each party is provided to the other at the outset of preparing the agreement which, in turn, also assists your legal representative when advising you about the terms of such an agreement.

 

If you wish to discuss your options about planning for your future, speak to our expert Family Law team on 01244 310022 or by email at family@jolliffes.com for a free, no obligation initial consultation.