Partner – Family
Knights
Prenuptial agreements have made a comeback into the spotlight recently – not least after Jeff Bezos tied the knot with Lauren Sánchez earlier this summer. While they continue to often be branded ‘unromantic’ or ‘pessimistic’, these agreements are quietly becoming more mainstream, with growing numbers of millennials and everyday couples separating themselves from traditional perceptions and exploring them as a pragmatic way to protect assets and ensure financial clarity in the event of divorce.
As a family specialist at national leading law firm Knights, Jane Livingstone has seen first-hand how prenups have evolved from being a niche, often misunderstood concept into a recognised mechanism that can bring clarity and security to relationships.
What is a prenuptial agreement really for?
A prenuptial agreement, commonly known as “prenup”, is effectively signed before marriage, setting out how a couple would regulate or separate finances should the marriage later break down.
They’re often associated with situations where one spouse has significantly greater wealth, owns a business, expects to inherit or wants to protect a family asset. Increasingly, however, couples with more modest means have started to recognise the value of deciding these matters early rather than leaving everything to chance.
While the Supreme Court has recently ruled that on divorce, spouses should share the assets they build together, they need not share assets received from their families or inherited, known as non-matrimonial assets. However, such assets can become ‘matrimonialised’, depending on how they’re used during the marriage. A prenup is a useful tool to clarify that certain assets, such as gifts, inheritances, or family wealth, are to remain outside the pool of shared assets, even if circumstances change during the marriage.
Similarly, if a spouse inherits or receives family wealth after the marriage has begun, a postnuptial agreement can serve the same purpose, offering protection and clarity at any stage of the relationship.
Where the change of heart comes from among younger generations
With many people deciding nowadays to walk down the aisle later in life, they often enter marriages with more established careers and accumulated assets. Many would’ve also witnessed, within family or friends, the financial fallout and emotional strain of divorce, making them more conscious of planning ahead.
Far from being a sign of mistrust, most couples find that talking openly about their finances before marriage brings them closer. As morbid as it may sound, it’s not unlike writing a will: it’s rarely done in expectation of the worst, but to provide clarity and peace of mind.
Are prenups legally binding?
Prenups aren’t automatically legally binding in England and Wales. Courts retain discretion to decide what is fair, especially in cases involving the needs of children.
However, if a prenup is properly prepared – with full financial disclosure, independent legal advice for both parties, and fair, realistic terms – it will carry significant weight. In practice, this often means that a well-drafted prenup does exactly what it’s intended to: reduce conflict and avoid lengthy, expensive and unnecessary disputes.
Who can benefit and what assets can be covered?
While high-profile examples like Bezos make headlines, prenups are valuable for anyone who wants to protect particular assets, spanning across family businesses, inherited wealth, property purchased before marriage, savings or investments built up independently, and trust funds.
For business owners, a prenup can be particularly constructive. Without one, divorce can trigger intrusive business valuations, disrupt operations, and create liquidity pressures. Agreeing in advance on how the business will be treated helps protect its stability.
Prenups can also address responsibility for existing debts, ensuring that personal liabilities remain personal rather than becoming joint obligations.
Importantly, these agreements aren’t standard templates – they’re tailored documents, drafted to reflect each couple’s unique circumstances and priorities.
Common misconceptions
One of the most enduring myths is that prenups are only for the very wealthy. The reality is now shaping these agreements differently, as prenups have been increasingly used by couples with moderate wealth who simply seek clarity and fairness.
Another misconception is that discussing a prenup is cynical or unromantic. In practice, most couples who choose to have these conversations find it reassuring, providing peace of mind and establishing respect for each other’s financial futures, which can hugely reduce anxiety.
How to get it right
The process by which a prenup is created is as important as its content. Some key points:
- Start early: don’t leave it until weeks before the wedding, but aim to finalise the agreement well in advance, ideally several months before the big day.
- Full disclosure: both partners must share an honest, detailed picture of their finances. Attempts to withhold disclosure or inaccurately disclose fundamental information could lead to the agreement not being upheld.
- Independent legal advice: each person should seek separate legal advice to show they understand and freely agree to the terms.
- Fairness: the agreement must be reasonable and account for both parties’ needs.
If a prenup appears rushed, one-sided or signed under pressure, it’s far less likely to hold up in court.
Keeping it up to date
Life changes, and so should a prenup. It’s sensible to review it every few years or after major events, like the birth of a child or receiving an inheritance. If needed, updates can be formalised to keep the agreement aligned with the couple’s current situation.
Final thoughts
A prenup won’t remove every risk and courts still have a duty to ensure outcomes are fair. But for many couples, it paves the way to a clear plan, agreed together.
At its best, a prenup isn’t about expecting divorce – it’s about protecting what matters most, reducing future conflict, and entering marriage with openness and confidence. That’s why, stigma aside, more couples are realising that love and pragmatism can go hand in hand.
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About Fiona Lazenby
Fiona Lazenby is a partner in the family team at Knights. Working with landowners and farming families to entrepreneurs, lottery winners and football club owners, she specialises in helping to negotiate the property and financial repercussions of relationship breakdown as well as resolving disputes over children’s living arrangements and wellbeing. Her high-net-worth clients have assets into the hundreds of million pounds. With expertise in the treatment of assets held in offshore trusts her clients are supported in both the UK and internationally.
She also advises clients on wealth protection when they decide to marry or cohabit, and prepares pre-nuptial, post-nuptial and cohabitation agreements to safeguard inherited wealth or business value created before marriage.
Seeking the best possible outcome for clients underpins her approach and she has often faced national media on their behalf.
She is also a member of the Law Society Family Advanced Panel in respect of complex assets.
About Knights
Knights is one of the fastest-growing legal services businesses in the UK, delivering high-quality services to more than 10,000 business clients from 26 offices nationwide.
Knights is ranked within the top 50 UK law firms by revenue – with specialists in all key areas of corporate, real estate and commercial law. Its extensive expertise is consistently strengthened through its acquisitions and the recruitment of high-calibre talented professionals.