Pre-nuptial agreement guidance

Radmacher (formerly Granatino) v Granatino [2009] EWCA Civ 649

The husband was a French national and the wife was German, but they married in England and spent most of their married life here. They had two children. The wife came from a very wealthy family and had significant assets before the marriage. Upon the wife’s initiative the parties entered into a pre-nuptial agreement under which they waived any claims for maintenance following divorce. The judge held that, although pre-nuptial agreements were not enforceable as they were contrary to public policy, she could give weight to the fact that the parties’ agreement was valid and enforceable in France and Germany. She stated that the husband’s award should be circumscribed to a certain extent to reflect the fact that at the outset he agreed to sign the pre-nuptial agreement. The wife appealed.