18/09/2017
It’s envisaged that prenuptial agreements will become more commonly used following the outcome of a court case which dismissed a woman’s bid for an equal share of her and her ex-partners assets.
Karen Hart was awarded £3.5m by the Court of Appeal after her 23 year marriage broke down. The couple’s assets were valued at just under £9.4m, but Judge Wildblood QC ruled that Mr Hart was entitled to keep the lion’s share of the combined wealth as he had brought the majority of the assets to the marriage.
Family law solicitors are now hotly debating how this will affect future rulings. Some believe that the settlement should have assumed equal weighting given the length of the marriage. There was also surprise that, even though it wasn’t properly evidenced, the judge found the financial contribution of Mr Hart outweighed that of Mrs Hart’s family and domestic contribution.
Others, however, are in favour of the ruling. They advocate that the courts draw a clear distinction between wealth built up during the marriage and what was generated prior to the partnership. In the case of Hart v Hart, Mr Hart brought his wealth to the marriage, so should be entitled to keep it. That said, an exception to this would be when a marriage breaks down and there aren’t enough assets to meet the financially weaker partner’s needs. As needs are viewed as more important, in those instances, some of the one side’s pre-acquired wealth will be apportioned to the weaker party.
Pippa Tudor, a divorce lawyer at Russell & Russell, advises: “This case has clearly set a precedent that, particularly where there is significant wealth involved, prenuptial agreements should be sought prior to getting married. I appreciate in the throes of love, it’s not a very romantic subject to bring up, but it's important to legally outline what contribution you’re bringing to the marriage to prevent any nasty surprises as they could be included in any pay out should you divorce in the future.”
Please note that this article is meant as general guidance and not intended as legal or professional advice. Updates to the law may have changed since this article was published.