Drafting a new agreement
Prenuptial, postnuptial and civil partnership agreements that record your intentions, attach disclosure and provide for needs and children.
Family LawPrenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements
Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements
RakLAW Solicitors advises couples across Southwark and London on prenuptial, postnuptial and civil partnership agreements. We help you decide what to record and follow the steps the court looks for.
If you already have an agreement, we review it against the current law and your circumstances now.
Nuptial Agreements in England and Wales
A nuptial agreement records how you and your partner want money and property dealt with if your marriage or civil partnership ends. It can be made before the wedding or registration (a prenuptial or pre-civil partnership agreement) or after it (a postnuptial or post-civil partnership agreement), and the court applies the same principles to both.
Nuptial agreements are not automatically enforceable in England and Wales. Since Radmacher v Granatino in 2010, the court gives effect to an agreement each of you entered into freely, with a full appreciation of its implications, unless in the circumstances prevailing it would not be fair to hold you to it. An agreement cannot prejudice the reasonable requirements of your children, and no term can stop either of you applying to court.
In June 2026 the Government consulted on making qualifying nuptial agreements binding, subject to safeguards. The consultation closed on 14 August 2026 and the Government is analysing responses, so the Radmacher test still applies. Our financial settlement pages explain how the court divides money and property where there is no agreement.
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Understanding Nuptial Agreements
When a marriage or civil partnership ends, the court decides financial claims under section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 or the matching provisions in Schedule 5 to the Civil Partnership Act 2004, giving first consideration to the welfare of any child of the family under 18.
A nuptial agreement is one of the circumstances the court weighs. In Radmacher v Granatino the Supreme Court set this test: the court should give effect to a nuptial agreement that is freely entered into by each party with a full appreciation of its implications unless in the circumstances prevailing it would not be fair to hold the parties to their agreement.
Fairness has three strands: need, compensation and sharing. Needs and compensation are most likely to make it unfair to hold you to an agreement, for example where one of you would be left in real need. Where both of you can meet your needs, the court is most likely to follow the agreement on sharing, which is why agreements often protect pre-marital property, inheritances and family gifts.
No agreement can remove the court's power to make financial orders: the Supreme Court confirmed in Radmacher that the parties cannot oust the jurisdiction of the court. For a written agreement made during the marriage, section 34 of the 1973 Act adds that a term restricting the right to apply to court is void while the other terms stand, with paragraph 68 of Schedule 5 to the 2004 Act matching it for civil partners; neither provision yet covers an agreement made before the ceremony.
An agreement is not a court order. If you separate and both accept its terms, we record them in a consent order, which the court approves only if fair; if one of you disputes the agreement, the court decides its weight in financial remedy proceedings.
Evidence and Common Issues
The court asks whether there was any material lack of disclosure, information or advice when the agreement was made: each of you needs the information material to your decision and must intend the agreement to govern what happens if the marriage ends. In practice that means:
- Financial disclosure from both sides, attached to the agreement as a schedule.
- Independent legal advice for each of you from separate solicitors, confirmed in writing.
- Time to reflect. The Supreme Court set no minimum period, but signing under pressure close to the wedding reduces weight; the Law Commission recommended, and the Government now proposes, a 28-day rule for qualifying agreements.
- No duress, fraud, misrepresentation or undue pressure, and no exploitation of a dominant position to secure an unfair advantage.
- Terms that are fair at the outset and provide for needs.
The court also weighs your emotional state, age and maturity and whether the marriage would have gone ahead without the agreement; an agreement made abroad is judged on the same principles.
When Legal Advice Is Especially Important
Early advice matters most where:
- You have been handed a draft to sign before the wedding and need your own advice, disclosure and time.
- One of you owns property, a business or savings from before the relationship, or expects an inheritance, and wants it kept separate.
- This is a second marriage or civil partnership and either of you has children from an earlier relationship.
- One of you is much wealthier, or plans to give up work to care for children, so needs and compensation matter.
- You or your assets are connected with another country; see our international family law pages.
- You are already separating: the agreement becomes one factor in the divorce or dissolution and the settlement that follows.
If your right to stay in the UK depends on your partner, separation can affect your immigration status: our family immigration team advises on that. If you are being pressured or controlled, call 999 in immediate danger or the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247; see our domestic abuse and injunctions pages.
How the Nuptial Agreement Process Works
Most agreements follow these stages.
- 01 Free initial consultation
You tell us what you want to achieve, what each of you owns and when the ceremony is; we explain what the court looks for.
- 02 Financial disclosure
Both of you set out assets, income, pensions and debts, and the disclosure is attached to the agreement.
- 03 Agreeing and drafting the terms
We draft what stays separate, what is shared, how the home is treated and how needs and any children are provided for.
- 04 Independent advice for your partner
Your partner takes advice from their own solicitor and can propose changes; both solicitors confirm the advice given.
- 05 Signing as a deed, well before the day
We aim to complete at least 28 days before the ceremony, executed as a deed and witnessed, with signed copies for both of you.
- 06 Review and update
After children, a house move, a business sale or an inheritance, a postnuptial or post-civil partnership agreement can vary or replace the original.
How Our Nuptial Agreement Solicitors Can Help
Advising on a draft you have been given
Independent advice on what your partner's draft means for you, with negotiation of changes.
Reviewing an existing agreement
A check of an agreement made here or abroad against the Radmacher factors and your circumstances now.
Varying or replacing an agreement
A postnuptial or post-civil partnership agreement that updates or replaces the original with the same safeguards.
Advice when the relationship ends
How the court is likely to treat the agreement, a consent order for agreed terms, or representation where the agreement is disputed.
Why Choose RakLAW Solicitors?
Regulated and accountable
Authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, SRA number 8007405.
A free first conversation
A free 15-minute consultation lets you explain what you want to protect and hear what the process involves.
Close to Tower Bridge
Our office at 42 Shad Thames is near Tower Hill, London Bridge and Bermondsey stations.
Clear about costs
Our fees for family law work page explains how we charge. We do not offer legal aid.
Advice if it is ever tested
We also advise on divorce, financial settlements and children if an agreement is ever tested.
Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements FAQs
Are prenuptial agreements legally binding in England and Wales?
Not automatically. The court treats it as one of the circumstances under section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and, since Radmacher v Granatino, gives effect to an agreement each party entered into freely, with a full appreciation of its implications, unless it would not be fair in the circumstances to hold them to it.
What is the difference between a prenup and a postnup?
Timing. A prenuptial agreement is signed before the wedding and a postnuptial agreement after it. The Supreme Court found no material distinction between the two and applies the same principles to each.
Do civil partners need a different kind of agreement?
The document is called a pre-civil partnership or post-civil partnership agreement, but the law is the same. Schedule 5 to the Civil Partnership Act 2004 gives civil partners financial remedies corresponding to those for married couples.
How long before the wedding should we sign?
As early as possible. The Supreme Court set no period, but signing under time pressure reduces weight. The 28-day rule recommended by the Law Commission and now proposed by the Government is a sensible minimum.
Do we both need our own solicitor?
You should. The law does not yet require it, but advice for each of you is one of the factors the court weighs, and we act for one of you only. Under the Government's proposals independent advice for each party could not be waived.
Can a prenup deal with our children?
It can say how you intend to provide for them, but it cannot bind the court. The welfare of any child of the family under 18 is the court's first consideration, and an agreement cannot prejudice the reasonable requirements of any children of the family.
Can we agree that neither of us will go to court?
No. The Supreme Court confirmed in Radmacher v Granatino that a couple cannot, by agreement, take away the court's power to make financial orders. For an agreement made during a marriage or civil partnership, section 34 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and paragraph 68 of Schedule 5 to the Civil Partnership Act 2004 also make such a term void.
Can I be made to sign a prenup?
No. An agreement signed under duress, fraud, misrepresentation or undue pressure carries little or no weight. If you are being pressured, take your own advice before signing anything.
What if our circumstances change after we sign?
The court judges fairness in the circumstances when the marriage ends, so a long marriage, children or a change of career can make it unfair to hold you to the original terms. For an agreement made during the marriage, section 35 of the 1973 Act also lets either party ask the court to alter it after a change of circumstances.
What happens to the agreement if we divorce?
If you both still accept the terms, we ask the court to approve them as a consent order after the conditional order. If one of you disputes the agreement, the court decides its weight in financial remedy proceedings, normally after a mediation information and assessment meeting.
Is the law on prenups about to change?
Possibly. In June 2026 the Government consulted on binding qualifying nuptial agreements with safeguards: a valid contract, a deed with a signed statement, no signing within 28 days of the ceremony, material disclosure, independent advice, and no contracting out of needs. The consultation closed on 14 August 2026 and the Government says any legislation will follow when parliamentary time allows.
What does a nuptial agreement cost?
It depends on the complexity of your finances and the negotiation needed; our family law fees page explains how we charge. There is no court fee for making an agreement; court fees apply only to a later consent order or financial order application and are listed in HMCTS form EX50.
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Speak to a Nuptial Agreement Solicitor
Whether you are planning a wedding, already married or reviewing an agreement signed years ago, an early conversation helps. Book a free 15-minute consultation at our office near Tower Bridge.
Request a call back and tell us briefly what you need advice on.