Unreported nuptial agreements in England and Wales

Thompson, Sharon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2569-856X Unreported nuptial agreements in England and Wales. International Journal of Law Policy and the Family Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Pre-nuptial agreements are not binding under legislation in England and Wales but can have decisive weight on divorce provided they are not unfair. Pressure is mounting for reform, because it is not always clear when the court will determine when an agreement is unfair. However, circumspection is needed before introducing legislation that would make such agreements binding. There are gaps in what we know about pre- and post-nuptial agreements on the ground. There is no data on how the current judge-made law on nuptial agreements is applied (or even if it is applied) outside the context of the ‘big money’ case. This article uses new interview data with barristers and judges to explore these unreported nuptial agreements. It presents six findings that reveal much that is not apparent in big money cases, while informing key questions such as whether nuptial agreements should be made binding, if there might be unintended consequences of reform, and how fairness could be facilitated if legislation were to be introduced.

Item Type:	Article
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Cardiff Law & Politics
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General) K Law > KD England and Wales
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
ISSN:	1360-9939
Funders:	Leverhulme Trust
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	22 April 2025
Date of Acceptance:	14 March 2025
Last Modified:	23 Apr 2025 09:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/177584

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