Supreme Court Ruling on Pre-nuptial Agreements - 20/10/2010

The ruling by the UK Supreme Court has supported the view that pre-nuptial agreements, unless unfair, can have decisive or compelling weight and has dismissed Nicolas Granatino's appeal to reverse the Appeal Court's decision to slash his lump sum payment awarded by the High Court from £5 million to £1 million.

This case is seen as a measure as to whether pre-nuptial agreements can apply to the law. Lord Phillips, president of the Supreme Court, indicated that the courts will still retain the discretion to put aside such agreements if they are deemed to be unfair to any children of the marriage.

This ruling does not only apply to the extremely wealthy, it will allow people to ring fence their personal wealth when embarking on a second marriage thereby protecting their assets for the benefit of their children. Wealthy individuals entering marriage with expectations of inheriting family wealth built up over generations or assets and wealth accumulated in a family business will be able to protect the "family silver" for the future.

This extremely significant decision has been hailed as a judgment fitting for a modern society. The Law Commission is due to report in 2012 as to whether the law should be changed to fully embrace pre-nuptial agreements.

[Back to news]