Pre-nuptial agreements were given significant recognition in English law for the first time yesterday after a wealthy German heiress won a landmark legal battle with her former husband.
Three Appeal Court judges ruled that the assets ofKatrin Radmacher- a paper industry heiress said to be worth 100 million - should be protected from her French ex-husband because of thepre-nuptialcontractthey signed before theymarried.
They said that in future cases, judges deciding the division ofmarriageassets should give ‘due weight’ topre-nuptial contractsfreely entered into by the parties.
In what onedivorcesolicitor described as a judgment that was ‘hell-bent’ on enshriningpre-nupsin law, the judges even suggested the agreements could be an alternative to the ‘stress, anxieties and expense’ ofdivorcehearings in the courts.
Miss Radmacher, 39, had brought her case toCourt of Appealto challenge an earlier ruling in the High Court that she should give 5.85 million to Nicolas Granatino, despite him having signed a contract vowing never to make claims on her if they split up.
Lord Justice Thorpe, sitting with Lord Justice Rix and Lord Justice Wilson, said: ‘In so far as the rule that such contracts are void survives, it seems to me to be increasingly unrealistic.
‘It reflects the laws and morals of earlier generations. It does not sufficiently recognise the rights of autonomous adults to govern their future financial relationship by agreement in an age whenmarriageis not generally regarded as a sacrament anddivorceis a statistical commonplace.’
The contracts are still not binding under English law, as there is no provision for them under Section 25 of the 1973 Matrimonial Causes Act.
ButVanessa Lloyd Platt, a leadingdivorce lawyer, warned that those who signedpre-nupsthinking they were worthless would now be making ‘a seriously flawed move’.
‘This will open the floodgates for people asking forpre-nups,’ she said, noting: ‘It’s not just the wealthy, it’s filtered down to the middle classes.’
To read the article on the Marie Claire websiteclick here!
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