Marriage, debt and prenups

Mr_Dubya_2

Hi there

New to the board but after some advice.

I'm getting married in June, but I'm taking in a considerable level of debt (c £30k) from a previous marriage. Because half of this is in a CCJ pressed by a private individual who (wrongly) bears me ill-will, I have no hope of an IVA and don't want to go down the insolvency route as it may affect my job.

However, I'm keen to protect my wife to be from this debt (she is solvent, but not totally debt free) both through the expected rest of our lives together and, should the unthinkable happen, any subsequent divorce.

Having spent hours trawling Google it appears that, as long as we keep our accounts separate, she would be protected as it's demonstrable that the debts were mine prior to us even meeting. Could anyone with knowledge confirm this?

Also, is it worth drawing up a pre-nuptial agreement, even though these aren't legally binding in the UK?

If anyone has any similar experience (or knows people who have), I'd be grateful for any further advice you might have.

Thanks in advance!

Horace

I have no experience of pre-nups and if you love the person and she is the one then you shouldnt need one..this is the UK and not the US.

Keep your money separate and don't have any joint accounts that way she won't be financially tied to you and your debt won't be her debt.

lozzam

The only way to protect your lovely wife is to avoid any financial connection - no joint accounts, mortgages etc, and don't have cards on each others credit card accounts. As you say, a pre-nup has no validity in the UK so not worth the paper it is written on.

Mr_Dubya_2

Thanks guys. That's reassuring. And yes, she is the one!