header-logo header-logo

Radmacher: Pre nups enforceable

22 October 2010
Issue: 7438 / Categories: Legal News
printer mail-detail

Pre-nuptial agreements are legally binding, the Supreme Court has held in a landmark ruling on divorce.

The judgment in Radmacher v Granatino [2010] UKSC 42 this week substantially alters the law of divorce in England and Wales. This is the first time that a pre-nuptial agreement has been held to be enforceable.

The court found in favour of Katrin Radmacher, a German heiress, who sought to protect her millions by signing a pre-nup in 1998 that stipulated neither party would benefit financially if the marriage broke down.
Lord Phillips, president of the Supreme Court, emphasised that the courts would still have discretionary powers to waive any pre-nup or post-nup, particularly if it was unfair to a couple’s children.

Simon Bruce, head of the family team at Farrer & Co, who acted for Radmacher, says: “This decision means pre-nups are binding as long as they are fair.

“Pre-nups are like a form of fire insurance—better taken out before the event rather than after it. Everybody hopes their marriage will last a lifetime. From today we are allowed to

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
back-to-top-scroll