Prenuptial Agreement

What is a prenuptial agreement?

A prenuptial agreement is a legal contract between same-sex or opposite-sex individuals entering a marriage or civil partnership in the UK. A standard prenuptial agreement template defines mutual rights and obligations of both parties in relation to jointly owned property and individually acquired assets and liabilities before or in the course of relationships.

This document helps to reduce the risk of losing your personal investments, savings or other assets in the course of divorce or separation. It also protects each party against personal financial liabilities of the other party.

Who should use this prenuptial agreement template UK?

A simple prenuptial agreement form can be helpful for:

• couples marrying or entering a civil partnership for the first time;
• couples with children from previous relations;
• couples with unequal financial resources;
• couples with a mortgaged family home;
• couples where either party has existing financial liabilities;
• any couple looking for financial predictability and legal clarity.

This document cannot be used for informal cohabitation between two individuals in the UK. In such a case a cohabitation agreement shall be used instead.

What should be included in the prenuptial agreement UK template?

The complexity of a final document largely depends on the list of liabilities and assets parties want to agree upon. A standard basic prenuptial agreement template shall include:

Marriage Details

This section shall reflect the full names and mailing addresses of the parties involved, as well as the planned date of the marriage or civil partnership. This agreement shall remain in effect within 12 months of the date of its signing. If the marriage or civil partnership is not celebrated within 12 months of the date of this agreement, it shall be deemed to be discharged.

If parties have children below 18 years of age in common or from previous relations, include the full name and date of birth of the children in the document.

Financial Disclosure

One of the most important prerequisites of entering prenuptial agreements in the UK is a financial disclosure for both parties. In this statement parties undertake to reveal all their existing financial liabilities, assets and business interests they may have on the date of signing this agreement.

Usually, a financial disclosure statement is being attached as a separate addendum to this agreement.

Jointly Owned Property

The parties to a prenuptial agreement in the UK shall define which property shall or shall not be considered joint property. A jointly owned property, also known as matrimonial assets, is a property that is vested in the beneficial interest of both parties to this agreement.

Even a simple prenuptial agreement form shall address the following:

• If any property is acquired before marriage/partnership by either party, it shall be treated as jointly owned property;
• If any property is inherited or gifted in the course of the marriage/partnership by either party, it shall be treated as jointly owned property.

Failure to decide the scope of a jointly owned property may result in personal assets of either party being shared or split in the name of both parties in case of divorce or separation.

Family Home

If the couple plans to acquire or already has a family home, the text of a house prenuptial agreement template shall outline the following:

• Family Home Description. Provide full address and full description of a family home.
• Primary Ownership. The family home can be vested in the name of one party or in the names of both parties as joint tenants or tenants in common.
• Divorce/Separation. The parties should also decide what will happen with a family home in case of a divorce or separation. If a family home is vested in full in the name of one party only, that party can retain their interest in full or grant the other party the free rent right to remain.

Dissolution

Upon dissolution or marriage or civil partnership, a standard prenuptial agreement template UK shall outline how the matrimonial property shall be divided between the parties.

The agreement can also expire earlier if either party is dead or both parties decide to terminate this agreement in writing.

Top 3 things to make your prenuptial agreement UK valid

Even a solid and well-written prenuptial agreement template can easily become invalid or incomplete if parties fail to execute important legal formalities mentioned below:

Find a witness

A prenuptial agreement form shall be executed by the parties in the presence of a witness. To do that, parties have to find at least two individuals who are capable of meeting the following requirements:

• be at least 18 years old;
• be of sound mind; and
• not be an interested party to this agreement.

Get Legal Advice

While taking legal advice from a solicitor is not legally required, many couples choose to get such advice prior to signing any papers. This unveils important legal pitfalls you may not have heard before. Parties may choose to get legal, accounting or financial advice, or both, at the same time. While legal advice is highly recommended in any case, taking financial or accounting advice depends on the complexity of a schedule of assets.

The signed and dated copy of a certificate of advice provided by a solicitor shall be attached as an addendum to the present agreement.

Schedule of Assets

A schedule of assets is one of the most important elements of every prenuptial agreement template UK. It helps to divide jointly owned property by a couple from personal assets acquired before the marriage or partnership was formed.

Filling in the schedule of assets shall be done carefully. Omission of certain assets may have negative legal repercussions for the parties, leading to a personal asset being converted into a jointly owned property of the couple.

Why Choose Our Prenuptial Agreement Template?

By customising this prenuptial agreement form template with FasterDraft, you get the following benefits:

• a template that is suitable for application in England and Wales;
• a document that is created by real solicitors;
• a document that is fully compatible with the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and the Civil Partnership Act 2004;
• a document that covers both parties’ existing and future assets;
• a template that can be customised for various life-case scenarios;
• a document with a clear structure and professional wording.

How to customise this prenuptial agreement in the UK?

To get a fully customisable document template, follow a few easy steps below:

1. Click the “Create Document” button.
2. Answer simple questions in the prenuptial agreement form.
3. Select a template’s format – word or PDF.
4. Make a payment.

The fully customisable prenuptial agreement template UK is ready for instant download and use immediately after the purchase.