Valentine’s Day is coming and the so-called “divorce month” January is over now. Love is in the air and all couples are filling their homes with flowers, chocolates and heart-shape cards.
We don’t want to be spoilsports and in the same way we celebrate love, we know that sometimes it has an end and everyday we see couples struggling with this.
Relationship breakdown is never easy, but it is harder if you haven’t thought about how you might deal with it when you get married or enter a civil partnership. In this blog we are going to explain the two options couple have in these situations once they decide to split up: pre nuptial agreements and post nuptial agreements. These are not only for movie star or footballers. They are used by many people who would prefer to have an agreement in advance as to what should happen to assets if there is a future split.
Pre nuptial agreements
A pre-nup is a contract that couples can sign before getting married or establishing their civil partnership and it says how their assets will be divided in the event that their relationship breaks down.
This type of agreement is becoming quite popular amongst those who have important or valuable pre-marriage assets and for those people starting a new life with a second spouse.
This contract isn’t legally binding, but Courts always take it into consideration when filing for divorce or dissolution and in the majority of the cases stick to it.
Post nuptial agreements
Post-nup is a written document that acts like a contract and that couples sign when they are already in a marriage or in a civil partnership. This agreement is generally binding in court, but it acts in a similar way to the separation agreements. In addition to this, the court might enforce this agreement when one of the parties breaches it.
What is generally covered in this type of document? You can add as many things as you want to this agreement, but the most common are as follows:
- Couple’s assets
- How to divide the home or other properties
- Maintenance agreements
- Future income
- Wills and trust
The risk of diy
If you’re thinking of saving money and time by a doing the pre-nup or the post-nup yourself, think twice. We have mentioned that Courts hold them in high regard when a couple is going through a divorce, so it is better that you seek legal advice to have a professionally drawn agreement and don’t risk the loss of any of your assets..
Should you require more information or guidance as to how to establish an agreement, contact our expert family solicitors. We believe that every couple and every situation are different, but our lawyers will go that extra mile and use all their years experience to best help you.