Pre-Marital Agreements - Enforceable or not?

There has been a recent recommendation by the Law Reform Committee that pre-marital agreements (or pre-nuptial agreements as they are commonly known as) should become enforceable by law.
 

Currently the law states that pre-marital agreements are not enforceable in court on the breakdown of a marriage.  However the court can be asked to consider a pre-marital agreement but it does not have to stick to the terms of the agreement. 

In a recent case, the court decided to uphold a pre-marital agreement on the basis that: -

• The parties understood the agreement;
• The parties had appropriate advice and there had been full financial disclosure;
• The parties were under no pressure to sign the agreement.  It has to be signed at least 28 days before the wedding day. 
• There had been no unforeseen change of circumstances which would make it unfair to hold either party to the agreement. 
• There was no injustice to either party. 

At present, the court takes into account all of the circumstances of the case and how encompassing the agreement is and the first consideration must be given to any children of the family. 

The Law Reform Committee's recommendation is on the basis that it is subject to safeguards and that the legislation is amended to reflect this. We will keep you updated on this recommendation and whether it becomes closer to a reality.