Family Law

Somaya Ouazzani

Solicitor, Kingsley Napley LLP:       

This article considers the gender aspects of prenuptial and postnuptial agreements.  It focuses on the practical realities of prenuptial agreements, in particular, the negotiating and bargaining positions of parties proposing to enter into such agreements and the actual effectiveness of the 'safeguards' espoused by the Supreme Court in Radmacher (Formerly Granatino) v Granatino [2010] UKSC 42, [2010] 2 FLR 1900. 
 
The article argues that rarely are the parties' negotiating and bargaining positions equal, and it is more often than not, the female party who is financially disadvantaged as a consequence of not only signing the agreement, but having been impervious to the practical reality of its often intended, but sometimes unintended outcome.  
 
The article concludes by briefly looking at how these gender imbalances can be minimised to ensure that both parties always understand what it is they are entering into as a matter of practical, legal and financial reality.

The full version of this article appears in the April 2013 issue of Family Law.