And they say romance is dead…
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a pre-nuptial agreement made overseas is still valid in Britain — a decision that legal experts say could have far-reaching implications for divorcing couples.
The high-profile case involves German heiress Katrin Radmacher and Frenchman Nicolas Granatino, who married in 1998 and divorced in 2006. The couple signed a pre-nup a few months before marrying and agreed that Granatino would be entitled to nothing should the marriage break down.
Radmacher has assets worth 54 million pounds and is expected to inherit 100 million pounds from her father’s paper industry.
Granatino had originally been awarded 5.9 million pounds, but Lord Justice Thorpe overturned the decision and said that such contracts should be taken into account when dividing assets.
Divorce lawyers say the decision could lead to a rise in the number of pre-nuptial agreements and that the financially disadvantaged party should think very carefully about their rights before agreeing to sign one.
What do you think? Would you sign a pre-nup? Would you ask your partner to sign one?
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4 comments so far
I don’t think that marriage should be a “for profit” enterprise so I would sign one myself. And if I had lots of money and my prospective partner had nothing I would ask the partner to sign one.
It’s a good way of separating the gold diggers from those (if any) who love you.
- Posted by AndyIt actually does make sense and I would agree to sign such an agreement. Love & marriage may be romantic etc., but divorces often get really bad - just to be on the save side!
- Posted by katrinIf a pre-nuptial agreement is signed then it should be binding
- Posted by george antoniouDepending where you are pre-nups can end up having absolutely no validity. A case in point is London where judges view their job as being to protect the financially weaker party. They will therefore break any pre-nup that they feel does not adequately protect the lower earner, hence the number of individuals wanting to settle bitter divorce cases in the UK.
- Posted by nick