- 250,000 engaged couples a year will be able to agree split of assets
- Plans will bring end to old idea that maintenance is 'meal ticket for life'
- Experts predict surge in demand for 'prenups' as a result of proposals
By Emily Davies
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Example: Prenups are commonplace in the US and celebrity couples such as Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones are reported to have had one
Prenuptial agreements are to be enshrined in law under plans to revolutionise Britain's divorce rules, it has emerged.
More than 250,000 engaged couples a year will be able to agree how their assets will be split should their marriage end.
Couples will be able to 'ring-fence' certain property or gifts to prevent them from being shared with their partner in the eventuality that they divorce.
The plans, set out by the Law Commission, will bring an end to the old idea that maintenance — usually to the wife — is a 'meal ticket for life'.
Experts have predicted a surge in demand for 'prenups' as a result of the proposals, which are expected to receive cross-party political support when they are published along with a Draft Bill this month.
The contracts are designed to save couples from wasting huge sums in acrimonious legal battles when their marriage breaks down.
The proposals are likely to include safeguards to prevent one spouse from being left in need, as well as plans to ensure that maintenance payments are limited to a certain period, as is the case in Scotland.
Prenups are commonplace in the US and celebrity couples such as Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones are reported to have had one.
The most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 118,000 couples were divorced in 2011.
Marital agreements are now on the rise and a recent survey of family lawyers found that of about 600 responses, 83 per cent had advised on at least one such arrangement in the past year.
Taken into account: German heiress Katrin Radmacher was allowed to keep her £100million fortune - with decisive weight' given to an agreement signed before she married
Although prenups are not legally binding in England and Wales, the Supreme Court did rule in 2010 that judges could take them into account if certain conditions were met.
The landmark ruling came after German heiress Katrin Radmacher was allowed to keep her £100million fortune – with 'decisive weight' given to an agreement signed before she married.
Andrew Newbury, head of family law at the law firm Pannone LLP, said that the reforms would lead to fewer relationships ending in court battles that can traumatise children.
'If there are clear principles that people can understand, more couples should be able to resolve matrimonial disputes without so much need to have recourse to lawyers,' he said.
The new plans are likely to include safeguards to prevent one spouse from being left in need, as well as proposals to ensure maintenance payments are limited to a certain period as the case in Scotland.
'If there are clear principles that people can understand, more couples should be able to resolve matrimonial disputes without so much need to have recourse to lawyers'
Andrew Newbury, Pannone LLP
Although pre-nuptial agreements are not yet legally enforceable, the Supreme Court did rule in 2010 that judges could take them into account if certain conditions were met.
German heiress Katrin Radmacher was told she could keep her £100million fortune despite the claims of her husband, a banker turned research student.
He took the case to Britain's highest court after his settlement was reduced from £5million to £1million.
In a landmark ruling, the appeal judges ruled that 'decisive weight' should be given to the agreement signed before the couple married which set out that neither would make a claim on the other's fortune.
The Supreme Court agreed and ruled courts should uphold pre-nuptial contracts provided they were freely entered into and where it would not be unfair to do so.
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