The Rise of Prenuptial Agreements in England and Wales

Once viewed as the preserve of the very wealthy, the prenuptial agreement has steadily moved into the mainstream. More couples now treat a "prenup" as a sensible piece of financial planning, in much the same way as making a will or taking out life insurance. If you are thinking about one, it helps to understand what these agreements can do, what they cannot do, and how the courts in England and Wales treat them.

What is a prenuptial agreement?

A prenuptial agreement is a written agreement entered into by a couple before they marry, setting out how they intend their assets and finances to be divided if the marriage later breaks down. A closely related document, the postnuptial agreement, does the same thing but is signed after the wedding. The two are treated in much the same way by the courts, and the principles below apply to both. Civil partners can make equivalent agreements.

It is worth being clear at the outset that this article deals with England and Wales only. The law in Scotland and Northern Ireland is different, and the reforms discussed below would not extend to them.

Are prenuptial agreements legally binding?

This is the question that causes the most confusion, so it is worth stating plainly. A prenuptial agreement is not automatically binding in England and Wales. When a marriage ends, the court retains an overarching discretion to decide how finances should be divided, guided by the factors set out in section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. No agreement can remove that discretion.

That said, a prenup is far from worthless. Following the Supreme Court's decision in Radmacher v Granatino in 2010, the courts will give effect to an agreement that was freely entered into by both parties, each understanding its implications, unless in the circumstances it would be unfair to hold them to it. In practice, a well-prepared agreement now carries real weight and will often be the starting point for how a court approaches a financial settlement.

What makes an agreement persuasive?

The weight a court gives a prenup depends heavily on how it was made. The following points are not a rigid statutory checklist, but they reflect what courts look for and what good practice requires:

• Both parties should enter into the agreement freely, without pressure.
• Each should take independent legal advice from their own solicitor, so that nobody can later say they did not understand what they were signing.
• There should be full and honest disclosure of assets, income and debts on both sides, because an agreement based on hidden finances is vulnerable to challenge.

The agreement should also be put in place in good time before the wedding rather than sprung on a partner at the last minute, when the pressure of an imminent ceremony makes free agreement harder to establish. You may see "at least 28 days before the wedding" cited as a firm rule. Under the current law it is not a fixed legal requirement, but it is sensible guidance, and as we will see it features in the reforms now being considered.

What a prenup can and cannot do

A prenuptial agreement can be a useful way to protect wealth built up before the marriage, to keep an inheritance or a family gift separate, to set out how a family business should be treated, and to clarify what each person is bringing into the relationship. For couples marrying later, or for second marriages, it can help ring-fence assets intended for children from an earlier relationship.

There are firm limits, however. An agreement cannot override the court's duty to meet the basic financial needs of either spouse or, crucially, of any children. It cannot dictate arrangements for children, which are always decided on the basis of the child's best interests. And it cannot enforce personal or lifestyle conditions about how the couple should conduct their marriage.

Why are more couples considering them?

Part of the answer is simply that people are marrying later, often after they have already acquired property, savings, a pension or a business, and they want clarity about what happens to those assets. Second and subsequent marriages, and blended families, are an increasingly common driver, as couples seek to protect wealth for children from previous relationships. The Law Commission's recent work also points to inherited and wider family wealth, farming families wishing to keep a farm intact across generations, and international couples used to fixed matrimonial property rules in their home countries, as common reasons for putting an agreement in place.

A change on the horizon

This is an area of law that may be about to shift, and it is worth being precise about where things currently stand.

In June 2026 the government published a consultation, A Fairer End to Relationships, which proposes introducing legally binding "qualifying nuptial agreements". Under the model being consulted on, an agreement that met certain safeguards would be binding on the court, rather than merely influential. Those safeguards would include the agreement taking the form of a deed, being signed at least 28 days before the wedding, and being supported by financial disclosure and independent legal advice on both sides. Even then, couples would not be able to contract out of meeting each other's needs or those of their children.

The important point is that this is a proposal, not the law. The consultation builds on a longstanding Law Commission recommendation first made in 2014, and it is open for responses until 14 August 2026. Any change would then require the government to legislate, which could take some time and may look different from what is currently proposed. For now, the position set out earlier in this article remains the law: prenups are influential but not automatically binding.

Where to go from here

A prenuptial agreement can offer real reassurance, but only if it is properly prepared, honestly disclosed and entered into in good time. A poorly drafted or rushed agreement may carry little weight when it matters most. If you are thinking about a prenup or wondering how the proposed reforms might affect your plans, speak to your solicitor, who can advise you on your own circumstances and make sure any agreement is drawn up to give it the best chance of standing up.