The original wedding vows,
printed in The Book of
Common Prayer in 1549,
contain the pledges:
‘With this ring I thee wed: this
gold and silver I thee give: with my
body I thee worship: with all my
worldly goods I thee endow.’ But
what if the groom’s personal estate
includes a successful business es-
tablished long before the marriage?
Or the bride stands to inherit a
grand Italian villa?
While it’s hardly romantic to
talk about one’s future financial
status as a couple, it is also foolish
to ignore it. Celebrity lawyer
Raoul Felder went as far as to argue
that, ‘If you are getting married and
you don’t have a prenuptial agree-
ment, you should see a psychiatrist,
not a lawyer.’ This maxim may be
especially true when it comes to a
high-net-worth marriage.
Yet prenups have only been rec-
ognised by English courts for nine
years, following the landmark
Radmacher v Granatino case. As
David Greer of London family
law firm Katz Partners explains,
‘Radmacher was the Big Bang for
prenups. Before Radmacher, courts
would not uphold a prenup be-
cause they were seen as being at
odds with the idea of marriage as a
lifelong union and as risking desti-
tution for wives. But with Rad-
macher, old-fashioned paternalism
gave way to a modern view that
couples should have the freedom
to decide what the financial con-
sequences of divorce should be.’
Times have changed. Now the
courts will uphold a prenup, pro-
vided that the contract was freely
entered into by both parties, and
that it would not be all-out unfair
to stand by its terms. This means
that a prenup ought to feature on
every pre-wedding to-do list, says
lawyer Sandra Davis, Head of Fam-
ily at Mishcon de Reya (the firm
that represented both Diana, Prin-
cess of Wales and Heather Mills).
Much the same as choosing the
DJ for the reception, the possible
demise of a marriage must also be
given advance attention. Just look
at the Formula One heiress Petrastand what can happen if you don’t
have a prenup contract. In essence,
the divorce court has powers to re-
distribute assets and order one
party to provide ongoing financial
support to their former spouse.
Regardless of who created the
wealth, everything is available to
be claimed, even if it was made –
or inherited – before the marriage.
Naturally the court’s first consid-
eration will be towards children,
but it will also look at the needs of
partners during the marriage: the
cost of regular trips to the hair sa-
lon, a designer wardrobe, first-class
travel – whatever it takes to keep
your ex in the lifestyle to which
they have become accustomed.
Perhaps a 50/50 split of assets is
only fair. But when one side began
with so much more than the other,a prenup can help to limit the
generosity with which ‘needs’ will
be interpreted.
However, even when there is a
prenup, the judge can dismiss it as
unjust. Case in point: Avon beauty
heiress Morgan McConnell was
ordered to hand over £1.3 million
of her £49 million fortune to
Anil Ipekci, who was earning
£35,000 as a hotel concierge.
When a considerable inheritance
is involved, a parent often insists on
a prenup. This can create a volatile
situation where future in-laws are
locked in hard-nosed financial
negotiations with a future son- or
daughter-in-law. Add this to the
usual pre-wedding tensions and
the result can be combustible. As
David Greer says, ‘I once had a cli-
ent who was asked to sign a prenup
and when I explained what her
future spouse was asking her to
sign, she decided there and then
that she would never marry him.’
Alas, there is nothing dreamy
about prenups, but then real life is
seldom a fairytale either. It is better
to address future pitfalls before a
brief walk down the aisle turns
into lifelong regret.Ecclestone who, despite her ru-
moured £5.5 billion fortune, had
signed a £16 million prenuptial
agreement with her husband
James Stunt. When they divorcd
in 2017, she must have thanked
the foresight of her father Bernie- the former F1 boss, who was
well-placed to forewarn his daugh-
ter, having handed over £740
million (one of the biggest settle-
ments in British legal history) to
Petra’s mother Slavica in 2009.
When significant sums of money
are involved, it’s vital to under-
A prenup is no love
song – but you’re better
safe than sorryBy ASTRID JOSSO N LYFOOLSRUSH INPHOTOGRAPHS: XXXXXXXXXXPHOTOGRAPH: WAYNE MASER / TRUNK ARCHIVE
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