Divorce Financial Settlement and Nuptial Agreements

Our team includes a family law consultant with over 30 years of experience who is a former partner of one of the UK leading  family law firms. 

We assist on all aspects of financial settlements, including complex, high-net-worth cases often involving international matters. We have considerable experience in advising trustees, beneficiaries and other family members caught up in divorce proceedings whenever there is a disagreement over how trusts and other wealth structures should be dealt with upon the divorce. 

Our ultimate goal is to ensure that our clients achieve the best settlement possible whether via court proceedings or by using alternative dispute resolution methods such as family mediation, family arbitration or collaborative divorce. We assist in negotiating out-of-court financial settlements involving international business interests, trusts, property and pension funds. 

Reaching a financial settlement 

Financial settlement is the agreement that a couple reach as to how to separate matrimonial money, assets and debts upon the divorce. The parties can reach such an agreement at any stage, although first they will need to disclose to each other what their financial resources are so that each party understands what is available before deciding and formulating what is fair. 

Once the parties have reached such agreement, it is important to ensure it is legally binding on them both. If parties are divorcing, the best way to do so is by converting their agreement into a consent order. This is a binding legal document which must be approved by a Family Court. The parties can apply for such an approval once the first part of the divorce process (obtaining a decree nisi) has been completed. 

Pre-Nuptial and Post-Nuptial Agreements 

Pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements are quite common and enforceable by the courts in some other jurisdictions like the USA and some European countries. Whilst nuptial agreements do not have a statutory footing in the UK, nuptial agreements are likely to be upheld by the English courts if they are drawn up properly and meet the required safeguards. This is due to the landmark case in 2010 of Radmacher v Granatino, which saw the Supreme Court make clear that a nuptial agreement will be upheld unless one person can show why it should not be. 

The aim of a nuptial agreement is to set out what the financial settlement would look like if a couple ever got divorced and to “ringfence” any assets that one or both of them is bringing to the marriage, or that they may inherit. Such agreement helps to provide certainty and security if a marriage breaks down and is also a good way of entering marriage with full knowledge of the financial picture. It gives couples more control to make their own arrangements for the future, rather than leaving everything up to chance (and potentially costly court proceedings in the event of divorce). 

Our team members have worked on several court cases based on one of the parties disputing a nuptial agreement. You can be confident that by instructing us to assist you on your pre or post-nuptial agreement, we will bring our own “hands-on” unique experience to provide you with the best possible advice.