Question 1

What is a prenuptial agreement, and is it binding?

Accepted Answer

An agreement made before marriage setting out how assets would be divided on divorce. In England and Wales it is **not automatically binding** — but courts give properly made agreements substantial weight, which in practice means they usually determine the outcome.

**Why they are not strictly binding.** Courts retain a statutory discretion to achieve a fair outcome, which cannot be removed by contract. A leading Supreme Court decision established that the court should give effect to an agreement freely entered into with a full appreciation of its implications, **unless it would not be fair to hold the parties to it**.

**What makes an agreement likely to be upheld:**

**Full and frank financial disclosure** by both parties. An agreement signed without knowing what the other person owns is vulnerable.

**Independent legal advice** for each party, from different solicitors.

**No pressure.** Signed well in advance — a commonly cited minimum is **at least 28 days before the wedding** — since an agreement presented days beforehand invites a finding of duress.

**Fairness at the time of signing and of enforcement.** An agreement leaving one party in real need, or failing to provide for children, will not be upheld regardless of how it was made.

**Review provisions**, since circumstances change — children, illness, career sacrifice — and an agreement that anticipated none of them is more likely to be set aside.

**What they cannot do:** bind the court on arrangements for **children**, which are always decided on the child's welfare; or exclude the court's jurisdiction entirely.

**Who they suit:** second marriages, particularly where there are children from a previous relationship; protecting inherited or family assets; business owners with other stakeholders; substantial pre-marriage wealth disparity; and international couples, where the question of which country's law applies is itself significant.

**Post-nuptial agreements**, made after marriage, are treated on a similar basis.

**In many other jurisdictions** these agreements are straightforwardly binding, which is a common source of confusion.

General information, not legal advice; take advice specific to your circumstances.

Question 2

What is the difference between marriage and civil partnership?

Accepted Answer

In England and Wales the two are now legally almost identical, and the differences that remain are largely historical, symbolic and procedural rather than substantive. The background. Civil

Question 3

Is there such a thing as common law marriage?

Accepted Answer

In England and Wales, no — it does not exist and has not for centuries. The belief that living together for a period creates marriage-like rights is one of the most widespread and consequential legal

Question 4

What is a statutory declaration, and when do documents need witnessing?

Accepted Answer

A statutory declaration is a formal written statement of fact, signed before an authorised person, which carries criminal liability if knowingly false — which is what gives it weight in place of

Question 5

How do you actually make a will, and what makes one invalid?

Accepted Answer

A will must satisfy specific formal requirements, and failing any of them makes it invalid regardless of how clear your intentions were — which is why a large proportion of the difficulty around

Question 6

What is a trust, and why do people set one up?

Accepted Answer

A legal arrangement in which one person holds assets for the benefit of another — separating legal ownership from the right to benefit, which is the whole mechanism and the source of everything

Question 7

What happens if someone dies without a will?

Accepted Answer

The rules of intestacy decide who inherits. These are fixed statutory rules, and they take no account of what the person would have wanted, what they said, or who actually depended on them. How it

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