subject: Radmacher brings prenups to the UK [print this page] "Well...I put a lot of thought into this and I think I would like you to sign a prenuptial agreement". With this line George Costanza persuasively suggests to his fiance, Susan, that she should sign a In this well-known, Seinfeldian line George Costanza tries to convince Susan, his fiancee, to sign a prenup. George thinks that Susan will be so hurt by his request that she will break up with him, so he can get out of their engagement without taking the blame.
Similar to the majority of of his schemes, however, this one fails as she gladly consents to sign one. She has a lot more money than George, so it's no big deal for her.
In present day Great britain, however, the popularity of prenups is apparently growing. Men under the age of 45 who generate in excess of 100,000 a year are 3 times more likely to have a prenup than those over forty five, a study carried out for the solicitors in London law firm Mishcon de Reya. . 17% of men under 45 has a prenuptial agreement of some kind.
The fascinating aspect of the growing acceptance of prenuptial agreements is that in Britain they have no legal weight. Judges routinely ignore prenuptial contracts, and for this reason many lawyers in London have described the city as the divorce capital of the world.
The status of prenups changed radically on Wednesday, however. The Guardian states today that Katrin Radmacher, a German millionaire, successfully got the supreme court to uphold a prenuptial agreement she made with her ex-husband to protect her inheritance. Granatino claimed against his former wife after signing a prenuptial agreement that stated neither party was entitled to any non-communal property. He stated there were several elements of the contract which made the agreement invalid.
Mr Granatino initially won 5.85m in a high court . The case was appealed, and the amount was reduced lower to about 1m. Eventually appeals took it all the way to the Supreme Court. The everyone involved expected the decision a while ago, but it was delayed due to strong differences of opinion between the justices.
Richard Todd, a well respected family law lawyer in London, was hired by Ms Radmacher to fight her battle her. Taking into consideration that the opposing counsel included lawyers that had represented members of the royal family, John Cleese, and Paul McCartney Mr Todd's victory is rather impressive.
Until the law is formally changed the court's verdict will set a new precedent on the status of prenuptial agreements in the UK. Now, as Ajmal Azam at the Guardian writes, "unless one party to the prenuptial has suffered from a material lack of disclosure, information or advice, or unless the agreement fails to make adequate provision for dependent children, the courts will enforce the terms".
Quite frankly it is well past time the UK started recognizing pre-nuptial agreements, as long as they meet the criterion for contractual agreements in general. Men and women alike would benefit significantly from the ability to establish guidelines on how non-communal property and assets will be divided in the event of a divorce.
