subject: Your UK Pre-nuptial Agreement - Look After The Detail [print this page] Your UK Pre-nuptial Agreement - Look After The Detail
Many people are aware that pre-nuptial agreements exist, however they are cloudy as to what exactly they can achieve and what legal backing they have.The first important point is that a UK pre-nuptial agreement can only deal with finances, property, debts and disputes when ending a marriage. It can not touch issues of child custody or support, visiting arrangements or anything unfair or illegal.Although somewhat naively seen as being unromantic by many couples, a good example of a Uk pre-nuptial agreement looks after important detail whilst preserving the love between the two people involved.The division and distribution of property can be set up in a pre-nuptial agreement. Commonly it will list all the property that each spouse comes into the relationship with - and will retain if a divorce should occur. A distinction can be drawn here between community and personal property. It can set out who is to receive the property, not only in the event of a divorce but also the death of either partner. The couple's home can also be included.Debts are another issue that can be sensibly dealt with. A partner may have a completely different view of their loved one's debts when they get together and start planning a future. He or she should consider the fact that a pre-nuptial should not be a problem which divides them, but rather is something which will be forgotten during a successful partnership. However if you find yourself in the unfortunate position of separation then it is unlikely that this view will be as giving. Therefore it makes good sense that if one has debts when entering into a marriage, a pre-nuptial agreement should be used to protect the other party from being held legally responsible for those prior debts as a result of a divorce. A pre-nuptial agreement is the perfect place to dictate who takes on what debts after a divorce - again solving what could be an extremely difficult issue.A pre-nuptial agreement can also state any maintenance payments in the event of a divorce or who is designated as a trustee for the estate at the time of the death of one or the other partner. The pre-nup can also include what the responsibilities are for each partner during the marriage.It should be noted that pre-nuptial agreements in the UK apply equally to gay and lesbian couples. Many thousands of same sex couples have registered their relationships under the UK 2004 Civil Partnership Act giving them the same rights as married couples.
