There has been a recent surge in prenuptial agreements being entered into by couples who are getting married for the second or third time. In such situations there has been felt an increasing need to protect children from a previous marriage or relationship. In some cases the wife may want a prenup. She may be a widow prior to a second marriage who has inherited money as a result of the death of her first spouse either as an inheritance or receiving the proceeds of a life policy. She may want to ensure that, should her new marriage breakdown, her children from her first marriage receive the benefit of the monies. A woman may receive monies as a result of a financial settlement from her first husband and again wants to ensure that, should things not work out for a second time, her children will not lose out. Of course this also applies to either partner who want to protect their children from their previous marriage or relationship.
There may be situations where the the prenuptial agreement actually reduces the conflict between the marrying couple and their children/step-children. Sometimes it is the children who are hostile towards the marriage taking place, fearing that they will lose out financially as a result of their mother or father remarrying. A prenup that protects the future inheritance of the children can often alleviate the hostility and acrimony between family members.
It is also the case that people marrying for the second or third time are less “romantic” than when they married for the first time. They are more experienced and aware of the financial consequences of the breakdown of a marriage. They are much more likely to be seeking advice about prenups than when they married for the first time. They know that the divorce rate is high and therefore it makes sense to enter into a prenup to safeguard their assets accumulated prior to the marriage both for themselves and for their children.
To discuss how a prenup could benefit your own situation, please speak to our experienced family department on 0113 320 5000 or by email tofamily@winstonsolicitors.co.uk.
You could get an idea of whether a pre nuptial agreement could be worthwhile by using ourprenuptial calculator.
