Member Article

Leeds law firm welcomes pre-nuptial agreement proposal from the Law Commission

Proposed changes that would make pre-nuptial agreements legally binding has been proposed by the Law Commission in report published today, and welcomed by Leeds law firm Blacks Solicitors.

It is expected to be popular with people entering into second marriages who have extensive assets,and to ensure children from previous marriages retain any potential inheritance.

In their report, the Law Commission stated: “Pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements (referred to together here as “marital property agreements”) have become more commonplace in England and Wales.

“However, they cannot be enforced as contracts and they cannot take away the courts’ powers to make orders.

“The only way to achieve legal finality is to ask the court to make orders that reflect the terms of the agreement; and the Supreme Court has said that this should be done unless the agreement is unfair.”

Paul Lancaster, partner in the family law department for Blacks Solicitors said: “We welcome the Law Commission’s recommendations which are in line with how the law has been developing for the last few years.

“It will be important however that if the law is changed that adequate safeguards are put in place to ensure that couples should not be held to agreements which are fundamentally unfair or, most importantly do not adequately provide for the needs of any children of the marriage.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .