It is a sad fact that January is usually the busiest time of the year for divorce lawyers up and down the country. It is even sadder that practitioners have witnessed a flood of spouses seeking advice regarding separation and divorce since the beginning of lockdown in March, which is unprecedented for this time of year. This, however, comes as no surprise.
The lockdown has forced couples to not only adapt to working from home together, but also to juggle this with home-schooling children. Only being allowed to leave the home to carry out essential tasks has meant that we have found ourselves having to live in each other’s pockets for weeks on end. The stress has led to conflict, resulting in some questioning their relationship and whether it will weather the storm. With our ‘new normal’ changing on a daily basis, we aren’t sure when or if life will return to what it was pre-Covid. Some want to know their legal rights and to plan for financial separation should their relationship be unable to endure the pressures that these changes have brought to every day life.
Divorce is very final and costly. It seems that there has been a trend in lockdown for couples to enter into a post-nup as an alternative to divorce proceedings, in an effort to save their marriage. Of course, this is not to take away from the fact that for some couples, divorce is the right way to go.
A post-nup is a post nuptial agreement. It is one that comes after the marriage has taken place and regulates how property, savings, income and pensions are to be divided, should the parties divorce in the future.
The advantage of a post-nup is that there is a document that can be relied upon, setting out clearly what will happen should you chose to give the relationship a go and it later ends. Once there is certainty as to how a party will get by financially on separation, it might allow them to park these worries and concentrate on making the relationship work.
The main disadvantage is that they are still not legally binding in England and Wales. However, they have grown in popularity since the 2010 landmark case of Radmacher v Granatino, which set out the requirements that a nuptial agreement should meet in order for it to give it sufficient legal weight.
Farleys’ specialist lawyers are able to offer their legal expertise to advise you in relation to the options available before a decision is made. Contact us on 0845 287 0939 or send your enquiry through our online contact form.
