Post Nuptial Agreement
Last Updated: 11/04/2024
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What is a post nuptial agreement?
Post nuptial agreements are a contract between you and your spouse, to agree your property rights over any assets you both may hold. They are similar to Prenuptial agreements and you can have both. The difference, is that they can be executed at any time during the marriage or civil partnership.
Examples of when a post nuptial agreement may be a good idea:
- If you have assets that you would like to bequeath to beneficiaries other than your spouse
- If you brought unequal capital into the marriage and would like to make sure that this is reflected in the event of divorce
- If one party leaves work to become a full time parent or homemaker, as this would disadvantage their career prospects. You may wish to grant the non-working party a greater proportion of the assets to reflect the loss they would suffer if they were to go back to work with a lower earning capacity in the event of divorce
- To deter infidelity in a struggling marriage
Read about how to protect your business in a divorce.
Can a postnuptial agreement save a marriage?
The Guardian reported in 2017 that there had been a rise in post nuptial agreements due to vengeful wives seeking to punish their unfaithful husbands. In these cases, husband has cheated on wife. Wife has asked for Divorce. Husband has begged her to stay. Wife has agreed to remain in the marriage on 'her own terms'.
The couple sign an agreement giving the wife greater property rights in the event of divorce, therefore giving the cheating husband a much greater financial incentive to remain faithful and to save the marriage.
It may not be very romantic, but some say it has rescued their relationship from divorce.
What can be included in a postnuptial agreement?
A post nuptial agreement's main purpose is to set out how the couple will divide assets such as property in the event of divorce. It may also include whether one spouse will pay spousal support, how marital debts will be divided and how assets will pass if either spouse dies.
Is a postnuptial agreement legally binding?
Pre nuptial agreements and post nuptial agreements are not legally binding in the UK. However, this guidance was set in a supreme court, for family courts to decide whether to enforce the agreement.
“The court should give effect to a nuptial agreement that is freely entered into by each party with a full appreciation of its implications unless in the circumstances prevailing it would not be fair to hold the parties to their agreement.”
This means:
- Both parties must receive independent legal advice from separate solicitors
- It must be fair (The terms should allow for both parties to have somewhere to live and money to live on)
- You must both give full financial disclosure of all your wealth and assets
- You must allow enough time to consider and negotiate terms
- Ultimately the court has a responsibility to divide property fairly and will overrule the agreement to do so. This is especially relevant where there are children
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Written by:
Andrew Boast
Andrew started his career in 2000 working within conveyancing solicitor firms and grew hands-on knowledge of a wide variety of conveyancing challenges and solutions. After helping in excess of 50,000 clients in his career, he uses all this experience within his article writing for SAM, mainstream media and his self published book How to Buy a House Without Killing Anyone.
Reviewed by:
Caragh Bailey
Caragh is an excellent writer and copy editor of books, news articles and editorials. She has written extensively for SAM for a variety of conveyancing, survey, property law and mortgage-related articles.
