Over the last 6 months, the Family Department has seen a considerable increase in enquiries regarding prenuptial agreements. 

We put this down to two main factors:

* An increase in "big money" divorce settlements in the press in recent years.  The announcement of the Madonna/Ritchie separation recently provoked even further  enquiries about prenups and their impact; and

* The "credit crunch" making spouses-to-be anxious to protect their dwindling assets.

We sanctioned a survey of  3,000 respondents and found that 35 per cent of men would now consider a pre-nup before walking down the aisle compared with 28 per cent of women.  There are very clear advantages to prenuptial agreements, which now have increasing weight in any divorce settlement provided certain steps are taken before entering into the agreement.

Our press release on 30th October (see our "News" section") was picked up by The Daily Express and The Telegraph.

With the financial outlook remaining bleak, we anticipate the interest in prenuptial agreements to continue for the forseeable future as couples look for greater financial security.