Pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements

Only the timing. A pre-nuptial agreement is signed before the wedding; a post-nuptial agreement is signed after it. The purpose, the protections, the disclosure and the legal treatment are otherwise the same. Where a pre-nup was not put in place at the time, a post-nup is the same document drafted later.

Not automatically, but they carry real weight. Following the Supreme Court's decision in Radmacher v Granatino [2010], the courts will give effect to nuptial agreements freely entered into, with full disclosure and independent advice on both sides, unless it would be unfair to do so. A well-drafted agreement that meets those conditions usually shapes the outcome closely.

At least twenty-eight days before the wedding. The principle is that no one should be signing in the rush of the wedding itself, where free choice and pressure become blurred. Earlier is better — three to six months out is sensible.

Yes, and that is the test that matters most. Even where there has been disclosure and independent advice, the court can decline to follow an agreement it considers unfair on the day the marriage ends, particularly where children's needs are not met. We draft with fairness in mind, because fair agreements are the ones the court honours.

Yes. Nuptial agreements should be reviewed and varied as life moves on — children arrive, circumstances shift, assets are bought or sold. Building in a regular review point, every five years or following a major life event, is sensible practice.

The agreement is one of the first documents the court will look at. Where it was properly entered into and remains fair on the day, it tends to shape the financial settlement closely. It does not replace the consent order, but it heavily influences what goes into one.

Yes, and we insist on it. We can act for one party; the other party must take advice from a solicitor of their own choosing. Without independent advice on both sides, the document is far easier to challenge later — which defeats the purpose of putting it in place.