Judgement due imminently in Radmacher -v- Granatino
18th June 2010 by: Deborah Jeff
Historically, prenuptial agreements have not been binding in England and Wales. However, the Courts have gradually given more weight to such agreements, culminating in the case of Radmacher -v- Granatino last year in the Court of Appeal. Mr Granatino took the case to the Supreme Court in March and judgement is expected any day now. We will report the outcome of the case as soon as it's handed down.
The Radmacher facts can be summarised as follows:
* Ms Radmacher was German, Mr Granatino was French and they lived in UK.
* The parties entered into a prenuptial agreement in Germany in 1998 shortly before their marriage in London.
* Ms Radmacher was considerably wealthier than Mr Granatino.
* The prenuptial agreement stated that Mr Granatino was to receive nothing from Ms Radmacher in the event of divorce.
* The prenuptial agreement was never reviewed or made into a postnuptial agreement.
*The marriage ended after 8 years, with two children.
*The High Court held it was unfair to hold Mr Granatino to the prenuptial agreement as the circumstances of the couple had changed since the agreement was entered into and awarded Mr Granatino a lump sum of £5.6 million.
*Ms Radmacher appealed to the Court of Appeal. The Court held that the starting point now for prenuptial agreements should be to ask "Why should the prenuptial agreement be departed from?" rather than "Why should we follow the prenup?". The Court decided that Mr Granatino knew the agreement he was entering into and reduced the lump sum to him by more than half. The prenuptial agreement was varied only to provide housing for the two children during the time they would spend with their father.
*Mr Granatino appealed to the Supreme Court for the prenuptial agreement to be disregarded.
It is widely anticipated that the Supreme Court will uphold the decision of the Court of Appeal. With that in mind:
What are the benefits of a prenuptial agreement?
* They set out the intentions of the couple before the marriage is entered into.
* They are likely to be given significant weight in any future divorce proceedings.
* They can address what happens to wealth that each party is bringing into the marriage, maximising the likelihood of the Court ringfencing such assets and allowing families to plan their estates with greater reassurance.
* Without a prenuptial agreement, the factors the Court must take into account in divorce proceedings could result in a significantly different financial outcome
The Radmacher facts can be summarised as follows:
* Ms Radmacher was German, Mr Granatino was French and they lived in UK.
* The parties entered into a prenuptial agreement in Germany in 1998 shortly before their marriage in London.
* Ms Radmacher was considerably wealthier than Mr Granatino.
* The prenuptial agreement stated that Mr Granatino was to receive nothing from Ms Radmacher in the event of divorce.
* The prenuptial agreement was never reviewed or made into a postnuptial agreement.
*The marriage ended after 8 years, with two children.
*The High Court held it was unfair to hold Mr Granatino to the prenuptial agreement as the circumstances of the couple had changed since the agreement was entered into and awarded Mr Granatino a lump sum of £5.6 million.
*Ms Radmacher appealed to the Court of Appeal. The Court held that the starting point now for prenuptial agreements should be to ask "Why should the prenuptial agreement be departed from?" rather than "Why should we follow the prenup?". The Court decided that Mr Granatino knew the agreement he was entering into and reduced the lump sum to him by more than half. The prenuptial agreement was varied only to provide housing for the two children during the time they would spend with their father.
*Mr Granatino appealed to the Supreme Court for the prenuptial agreement to be disregarded.
It is widely anticipated that the Supreme Court will uphold the decision of the Court of Appeal. With that in mind:
What are the benefits of a prenuptial agreement?
* They set out the intentions of the couple before the marriage is entered into.
* They are likely to be given significant weight in any future divorce proceedings.
* They can address what happens to wealth that each party is bringing into the marriage, maximising the likelihood of the Court ringfencing such assets and allowing families to plan their estates with greater reassurance.
* Without a prenuptial agreement, the factors the Court must take into account in divorce proceedings could result in a significantly different financial outcome
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