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Most of us have the opinion that a prenuptial agreement is something that only wealthy celebrities need to bother about; take the recent case of Mills vs McCartney, Sir Paul stated at the time of his engagement to Heather that they would not be bothering with a prenup because they were in lurve and would never need such an unromantic hassle.

He will be feasting on his words this morning! I am sure that much of the recent nastiness would have been avoided if all the financial details were sorted out before they walked down the aisle a few short years back.

Anyway, what about us lesser beings? especially women. With more women today owning property and having their own substantial savings and assets prior to marriage, is it a thing we should consider before saying I do? if you are living in the UK or the USA I would say yes. They say that the most expensive city on earth in which to get divorced is New York, and I’d agree with that, but following hot on it’s heels is London.  Property laws are different here compared to European countries where say, in France, the law ensures property accumulated before marriage remains in the hands of the individual and cannot be a part of any marriage contract.

In the UK it is different as we all know. Courts are now counting future earnings as claimable in settlements. Of course it should all be fair…you take away with you only what you brought in and what you made together you cut down the middle. But that is way too simplistic where lawyers are concerned these days and have made it so that your ex can take a chunk of what you had before you married as well as what had during the marriage and even what you expect to earn after the divorce. This is the most unromantic part of the whole deal, the unfairness of it all. And this is why you should protect what you have from the start, after all you insure your life even though you dont expect to die too soon, think of a prenup as insurance.

Go to a solicitor and sort it out and make sure you have independent legal advice. The Courts look for a number of aspects all involving fairness when reviewing prenuptial agreements so as to protect the poorer half of the couple ( did he/she have independent legal advice; was he/she under pressure to sign…) and if you both have children remember that their interests will be served first before any agreement will be drawn up and decided on.

For further reading on this topic:

Prenuptial Agreements (UK)

Prenuptial Agreements (USA)

Prenuptial Agreements (Australia)

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Just recently I was listening to a report on television about the falling numbers of couples formalising their relationship in the traditional way through marriage. The reason…? simple - it is just too expensive. In fact it was claimed that the average total cost of a typical wedding today was in the region of £40,000 - and that is not including the honeymoon!

In light of this, many people still prefer to take the plunge but more couples are seeking alternative solutions with a very popular choice being getting married outside the UK in exotic locations such as the Caribbean. Actually it has become an industry in itself now…wedding packages abroad. A friend of mine, a hairdresser, told me she and her husband married in Las Vegas for a fraction of what it would have cost them in the UK. They chose a special package and had a choice of hotels in Vegas and everything was all inclusive - even the airfares. The only mistake she said they made was using the hotel hair salon where the bill for doing the ladies’ hair in the wedding party came to nearly a thousand dollars. But apart from that she said she would recommend this option to any couple.

So maybe this will see less people getting married in the UK - but going elsewhere to do it.

Popularity: 10% [?]