The Agreements We Draft.
We advise one of you, prepare or review the draft, negotiate amendments and explain the likely legal effect. The other person takes independent advice.
Prenuptial Agreements
Before a marriage or civil partnership
Records what each of you brings and what should happen to it. Property, a deposit or savings, a business and the income drawn from it, expected inheritance, or commitments from an earlier marriage.
Post-Nuptial Agreements
After a marriage or civil partnership
The same thing made after the wedding rather than before it, and judged by the same test. Often used where circumstances have changed, an inheritance or a business has arrived, or a couple are reconciling and want the position recorded.
Cohabitation Agreements
For couples living together, unmarried
Records who owns what share of the home, how outgoings are met and what happens if you separate. Where the question is ownership of property, a declaration of trust does more than an agreement does.
Separation Agreements
On separating, before or without divorcing
Records arrangements for the home, money and outgoings while you are apart. Its terms can be put to the court as a consent order if the marriage or civil partnership is later brought to an end.
The Legal Position
In England and Wales, none of these agreements removes the court’s discretion. What a well made agreement does is carry weight.
Entered Freely and Understood
Made without pressure, with material financial information exchanged and separate advice on each side. Leaving a prenuptial agreement until the wedding is close weakens that position.
There Is No Common Law Marriage
Living together, however long, gives neither of you a financial claim against the other. Property is decided by the law of trusts and TOLATA 1996, and provision for children under Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989.
Children Remain With the Court
No agreement binds a court on where children live or the time they spend with each parent, and its financial terms cannot be allowed to prejudice their needs.
The Consultation Fee
£216including VAT
The consultation lasts up to an hour and covers your circumstances, the legal position that applies to them, and the routes available. You pay it whether or not we go on to act.
You do not pay it if you already hold a legal aid certificate, or if your matter is care proceedings brought by a local authority. The government eligibility checker is not a certificate: it estimates eligibility, it does not grant it, so we cannot waive the fee on a checker result.
Otherwise you pay the fee. We will assess your eligibility for legal aid at the consultation and this is done on means and merit. The result decides how your case proceeds. We assess the fee for the agreement itself after that meeting, and we confirm it in writing before we start.
Things to Know
These answers state the general position in England and Wales. Your advice will address your circumstances.
Will the Agreement Bind the Court?
No. The court keeps its discretion. Following Radmacher v Granatino it should give effect to an agreement entered into freely, with a full appreciation of its implications, unless it would be unfair to do so.
Is There a Legal 28-Day Deadline for a Prenup?
No. Current law sets no 28-day rule. The Law Commission recommended one as part of a proposed statutory scheme of qualifying nuptial agreements, and that recommendation has not been enacted. Starting early still reduces avoidable pressure.
We Have Lived Together for Years. Are We Common Law Married?
There is no such status in England and Wales. Length of cohabitation gives you no claim on your partner’s income, pension or property. What you can do is record ownership and intentions while you agree about them.
Can One Solicitor Advise Both of Us?
No. We act for one person and the other should take independent advice. Separate advice supports informed agreement and reduces the risk of a later challenge.
Is a Separation Agreement the Same as Divorcing?
No. It is a contract recording arrangements while you are apart, and it does not end a marriage or civil partnership. It is also distinct from judicial separation, which is a court decree.
What Should I Have Ready for the First Meeting?
Which of the three you think you need, any date that fixes the timetable such as a wedding, whether a draft already exists, and the main assets or commitments you want recorded. We will explain what financial information is needed and what the next step is after considering your position.
Other Family LawServices
Review related advice on divorce, money and property on separation, and protection from abuse.
