The latest on nuptial agreements: three recent cases: Part 2

Elizabeth Wark Barrister 3DJB

Three recent decisions considered whether a Nuptial Agreement (‘NA’) should be upheld. The contexts were varied: in one before a District Judge the parties were middle class legal professionals with total assets c.£2.5m. In another lower court decision before a Circuit Judge the main contentious feature was the Husband’s business. Recently valued at c.£25 million this was an asset which attracted limited attention during the parties’ NA negotiations only a few years earlier. The third was a decision in the High Court with total assets of c.£100 million. Much of the parties’ wealth was concentrated in assets held in the Husband’s sole name.

Whilst the principles which underpin the court’s analysis of a NA remain those propounded in ‘Radmacher’ these decisions are instructive as to how the modern court approaches (i) factors which may vitiate a NA and (ii) the countervailing factors which point to one being upheld. They also offer a useful opportunity to highlight practice points and potentially dangerous pitfalls.

The article is in two parts: the November 2024 edition features a case summary of each decision. The December...

Read the full article here.