Prenuptial Agreement

Gorie

So my partner and I are thinking of taking the plunge and living together (maybe marriage).

We have no children, both own separate houses (hers is worth about £30k more than mine and she has owned it longer).

We both feel that some form of prenuptial agreement - even if we don't marry, is a good idea and have been looking into them and their legal enforceability.

One option we have uncovered appears to be a so called 'Confidential prenuptial agreement', which upon enquiry seems to be a limited liability partnership. Basically as explained to me assets are transferred into a limited liability partnership with 2 x family members (mum and dad or brother and sister etc.) as joint directors. In the event of a divorce/separation you leave the company and the assets are protected. You rejoin once the waters have settled. This needs to be set up before you even live together.

I cannot seem to find much online regarding this type of arrangement, even after hours of googling, furthermore this solution only appears to be offered by a few law firms in London. It is priced at 0.5% net asset value so may well be an expensive option, but we don't mind paying if its secure and enforcable.

Has anyone any experience of this type of arrangement?

PS We implicitly trust our parents/siblings not to run of with our assets so would have no problems signing over to them and understand this part of the arrangement and its risks.

Guest101

Given you aren't marrying, why are you even worried about this?

Faith177

It is my understanding the Prenups are not recognised in the UK so any agreement drawn up between you wouldn't be worth the paper it is written on but I'm sure someone on here would be able to point you in the right direction if I am wrong

Caroline_a

I'm pretty sure that if you did get married that pre-nups aren't enforceable in the UK.

thriftylass

Don't get married.

My now husband already had a house when we met. I moved into his. Later we bought together. The difference in our assents was about 20k (saving vs his deposit). It was never questioned that we shared, especially once we married. Just live together.

Finst

My limited understanding is that prenuptial arrangements have no legal basis in UK law, and are unenforceable.

In order to work, this arrangement would have to create a situation where the marital assets do not belong to the married couple, while still allowing the married couple to have use of those assets.

My gut feel is that:
- such an arrangement would be easily challenged by any divorce lawyer
- there are likely to be lots of unintended consequences (3% extra stamp duty when buying property because its owned by a company/trust, for example)

If I were you, I'd want to see some case evidence of such arrangements being challenged as part of a divorce, and being successful.

Gorie

Thanks for the above posts.

The whole reason for investigating this alternative arrangement was just that... Prenuptial agreements are not enforceable.

This however, from what I can tell, is enforceable (though only in the absence of children).

Speaking to many solicitors, indeed almost all, by living together without being married we are classed as co-habiting and even in the absence of a marriage co-habitation can have financial implications in the event of a separation.

Guest101

Gorie wrote: »

Thanks for the above posts.

The whole reason for investigating this alternative arrangement was just that... Prenuptial agreements are not enforceable.

This however, from what I can tell, is enforceable (though only in the absence of children).

Speaking to many solicitors, indeed almost all, by living together without being married we are classed as co-habiting and even in the absence of a marriage co-habitation can have financial implications in the event of a separation.

So you're falling for the sales pitch?


Driving a car, walking down the street, cooking a meal, infact pretty much anything can have financial implications.


What are you worried about?


I mean for one it's funny, you trust your siblings but not your partner. For another, the implications are very easy to limit. Basically don't accept rent and that's pretty much it.

Kynthia

If you aren't marrying then get a co-habitation agreement. This will show your intentions from the start and should prevent claims of beneficial interest later down the line. If you are planning to marry then unless one of you has a family inheritance or family business to protect (something that was given to you buy your family with the intention/hope of passing it to your children and therefore isn't really yours to share in your eyes) I can't see why you wouldn't take the plunge and share everything as a couple. Otherwise why marry? If there is something specific to protect then consider a pre-nup (which is taken into consideration but can be ignored by divorce courts) or something else a solicitor suggests to keep it separate.

Gorie

We both own separate houses and would be buying a third together... We are not moving into my house, or her house. Last I could tell purchasing a house together and moving in led to some form of financial tie a little more formal than preparing lasagne

I wouldn't imagine its so much as a sales pitch more than something I am actively investigating - the family court situation is very different that in Europe where, in say Germany, such agreements are binding.

We just both want to ensure that should the worse happen in future and we split our assets from before moving in together remain protected. Clearly our joint assets would be split.

Future planning is not about trust. I trust my partner implicitly otherwise we wouldn't move in together. Look around this forum however, or the internet as a whole and marital relationships break down more often than family ones. I'm just planning for the future. I also have life insurance but trust I won't keel over and die tomorrow.

Gloomendoom

Gorie wrote: »

Look around this forum however, or the internet as a whole and marital relationships break down more often than family ones. I'm just planning for the future. I also have life insurance but trust I won't keel over and die tomorrow.

What do yo regard as a family relationship? Shacking up together?