We specialise in Family Law, Divorce, Property, Conveyancing, Probate, Wills and Powers of Attorney.
We specialise in Family Law, Divorce, Property, Conveyancing, Probate, Wills and Powers of Attorney.
Not just for the super rich, the demand for pre-nuptial agreements is growing and the contracts are becoming more common with younger professionals.
Considering a prenuptial agreement? Contact Dale & Co.
Pre-nuptial agreements are not currently binding in English law however, they can be of significant value and can be taken into account by the courts should there be a dispute during the course of a subsequent divorce.
In the case of Crossley v Crossley there was an appeal following the court refusing a wife full financial disclosure on the basis that a pre-nuptial agreement had been signed. This was a short childless marriage and the agreement had stated that neither party would bring any application for financial provision should their marriage break down. The appeal was dismissed. This judgment has added weight to the benefit of Pre-nuptial agreements, leading Susan Crossley to drop her claim to her husband's £45 million fortune.
A Supreme Court ruling regarding the case of a German heiress’ s fortune is being seen as setting a precedent for divorcing couples who have signed prenuptial agreements. The case could go as far as ensuring that all "prenups" between couples in England and Wales are recognised as binding in the courts, as they are in France and Germany.
Nicolas Granatino, who is French, and Katrin Radmacher, a German paper heiress worth an estimated £100m, signed an agreement not to make a claim against each other if they divorced. Such contracts are enforceable in France and Germany, where this one was signed, but not in England, where the couple married in 1998.
Andrew Newbury, a family lawyer who has contributed to a Law Commission investigation into the validity of prenups, said that "If the supreme court ruled in Katrin Radmacher's favour, it could be seen as another step towards the UK finally falling into line with western Europe and America, where prenups are definitive." Newbury went on to say, "If intelligent couples want to strike such agreements, then why should the courts interfere?"
Following Granatino’s move to become a biotechnology researcher at Oxford University, the marriage broke down. The couple divorced in 2006 and a high court ruling awarded Granatino £5.8m but the Court of Appeal overturned this ruling last year, saying the prenuptial agreement should have been taken into account.
Appeal judge Lord Justice Thorpe said it had become "increasingly unrealistic" for courts to disregard prenuptial agreements. "It does not sufficiently recognise the rights of autonomous adults to govern their future financial relationship by agreement in an age when marriage is not generally regarded as a sacrament and divorce is a statistical commonplace," he said.
Radmacher was delighted at the verdict. "The agreement was at my father's insistence as he wanted to protect my inheritance – this is perfectly normal in our countries of origin, France and Germany. Like all wealthy parents, he feared gold-diggers," she said at the time. "As an heir himself, Nicolas perfectly understood this. The agreement gave me reassurance that Nicolas was marrying me because he loved me as I loved him... that we were marrying for the right reasons."
But Granatino, whose legal team includes Sir Paul McCartney's divorce lawyer, Fiona Shackleton, said that he faces financial ruin if his divorce settlement was not increased and appealed against the decision, which now presents the Supreme Court with the first case of its kind. Granatino said that he had had no idea his fiancée was worth so much and claimed that they had not discussed her family's fortunes before he signed the prenup.
At present, courts can take into account “all the circumstances of the case”. Thus, if a prenuptial agreement exists it will be considered by judges but will not necessarily be the determining factor in the division of assets and funds.
The danger, according to legal experts, is that a fair settlement may not be arrived at if greater importance was placed on prenups particularly if one of the partners in the relationship is stronger.
The Supreme Court may decide that the status of prenups is still unclear and suggest that parliament determine how to proceed, a move that would place pressure on the government to provide a definitive response.
The Law Commission is due to publish its recommendations on the validity of prenups next year.
It is not surprising that Stuart Crossley required Susan Crossley (nee Dean) sign a prenuptial agreement before he tied the knot, after all she had already benefitted from generous settlements from her previous 3 husbands Kevin Nicholson, heir to the Kwik Save fortune, Peter Lilley the adopted son of Thomas Lilley, chief of Lilley and Skinner shoes and racing magnate Robert Sangster, heir to the Vernon Pools fortune.
However, after a 14 month marriage Susan Crossley felt that the prenuptial agreement promising not to pursue her husband's fortune was invalid due to the discovery of an additional £60 million held in accounts in Monaco and Andorra which she did not know about when signing the agreement.
Mr Crossley’s legal team had asked the courts to short-circuit normal divorce procedures because the marriage was short and childless, both partners had independent wealth and a prenuptial agreement was in place.
In that document the couple had agreed that in the event of a divorce they would retain their own assets and make no claims against each other.
His team argued that the facts could be heard in one day rather than enduring the usual proceedings, which might entail three hearings, a delay of up to 18 months and significant costs.
The High Court judge Mr Justice Bennett agreed that the case could be heard in one day in February, when the prenuptial agreement would be evaluated and a decision made there and then over whether to throw out Mrs Crossley’s arguments..
Yesterday, Mrs Crossley’s legal team argued that in agreeing such a procedure Mr Justice Bennett was denying her access to the courts. She would have no chance to present evidence about undisclosed assets that she claimed rendered the agreement invalid.
Lord Justice Thorpe, who sat with Lords Justices Keene and Wall, praised Mr Justice Bennett’s innovative decision and said that judges had a duty to look at ways to shorten the trial process where “very rich people are demanding full-scale trials” and limiting the courts’ overstretched capacity.
Lord Justice Thorpe, giving the ruling, also called for legislation to clarify the status of prenuptial agreements. In Britain they are not legally binding, although judges do take them into account.
He said: 'This is a quite exceptional case on its facts. If ever there is to be a paradigm case in which the courts will look to the prenuptial agreement as not simply one of the peripheral factors of the case but a factor of magnetic importance, then it seems to me that this is such a case.'
There was a 'strong argument' for legislation, he added, given that the European Union considered it important to tackle the differences that existed on property-sharing between member states.
Mark Harper, a partner with Mr Crossley’s solicitors, said that the ruling was 'a significant step forward for prenuptial agreements'. He added: 'The Court of Appeal has shown that when a prenuptial agreement exists, the English courts can take a pragmatic approach and short-circuit normal court procedures, saving time, money and emotional distress for all involved.'
Mr Crossley said: 'This is a fair decision. I am upset that our marriage failed.'
He met his future wife in the summer of 2005 and they were married 14 weeks later, in early January last year. But from June the couple lived largely separate lives and in August she filed for divorce.
Contact Us for a Free Initial Consultation. Ask for your FREE copy of our booklet A guide to Divorce or Separation.
We take on Agency work for all aspects of Family Law.
It is essential when setting up a home together that legal and financial affairs are put in order by getting a cohabitation agreement and Wills drawn up through a solicitor. A cohabitation agreement can be tailored to the individual couple's situation, but should set out, for example, how the property ownership is to be shared, how the parties' income is to be utilised, i.e. either pooling resources or maintaining separate accounts and provisions for changes in the future to the agreement should it be necessary.
An Overage (also known as a Clawback) agreement allows paid money to be taken back in special circumstances. This can be used to cover any cash deficiencies by using prior profits. This may also be an additional payment after a sale has completed, paid under agreed circumstances.
Overage payments on land pay the original owner of the land part of the land's future value - therefore a developer may enter into an Overage agreement to buy land at a lower price, paying a further sum to the original owner once planning permission has been granted, for example. It is recommended that if you are purchasing land as an investment that you avoid those purchases where Overage agreements already exists and buy the land outright.
An Overage / Clawback agreement should consider:
Common devices used for security are restriction (preventing any further sale without the consent of the seller), charge (which is registered against the property) and restrictive covenants (barring development until overage is paid).
Overage / Clawback agreements can be extremely useful to protect your assets and investments. Contact us as soon as possible when considering an overage agreement to ensure that it is clear, successful and profitable!
An Excellent Service
An Excellent Service
Thank you all very much for your help.
Thank you - and could you thank Mrs. Hunt for being so calm and professional with everything.
thank you and could you thank Mrs. Hunt for being so calm and professional with everything.
Justine made my Will signing with ease and professionalism, I would recommend Dale and Co. to friends , very nice company.
Very happy with everything. Would always consult you again if necessary. Many thanks
An Excellent Service - Recommended
Thank you Felicity and thank you for all your help during
the purchase and sale. You have been very efficient and prompt.
An Excellent Service - Recommended
Very good service; really happy with how easy it was to get the Will written and to how we wanted it. Thank you
First Class Service. Well done.
An Excellent Service
Smooth and efficient throughout
An Excellent Service
Great Service
An Excellent Service
Wonderful fast and friendly service . Thank you.
Very pleased with how things were dealt with !
An Excellent Service
An Excellent Service
First Class Service. Very Good Service and will definitely be recommending you to friends and family. Thank you for all your kind patience.
Excellent Service & with a "Smile"
Great Conveyancing Team. You will not get a better service. You might get as good, but you wont get better. Top Bananas. Thanks
I could not have found a better service and having my little dog Skye being made to feel so welcome too was a real added bonus .Thank you so very much
An Excellent Service
An Excellent Service
An Excellent Service
Thank you for an extremely professional, friendly service. We would not hesitate in recommending you. So efficient.
The home visit to complete the signing of our Wills was arranged promptly for which we are grateful. Thank you
We were very happy with the service we received. Everybody we had dealings with was helpful , courteous and knowledgeable. Thank you.
As ever an efficient and friendly service . I would have no hesitation in recommending Dale and Co. to anyone.
Thank you Justine. For everything.
An Excellent Service
An Excellent Service
An Excellent Service
An Excellent Recommended Service - And a charming lady what's more !
Justine has been excellent - highly recommend her.
An Excellent Service
An Excellent Service
Thank you all very much for your help.
Used Dale and Co twice and will not hesitate in using them again should have the need . I cannot fault their proficiency.
Thank you - and could you thank Mrs. Hunt for being so calm and professional with everything.
thank you and could you thank Mrs. Hunt for being so calm and professional with everything.
Justine made my Will signing with ease and professionalism, I would recommend Dale and Co. to friends , very nice company.
Friendly and efficient help
Very happy with everything. Would always consult you again if necessary. Many thanks
An Excellent Service - Recommended
Thank you Felicity and thank you for all your help during
the purchase and sale. You have been very efficient and prompt.
I thought the service was excellent, friendly, professional. I felt totally at ease throughout the whole process and felt I was in excellent , capable hands
An Excellent Service - Recommended
Very good service; really happy with how easy it was to get the Will written and to how we wanted it. Thank you
First Class Service. Well done.
An Excellent Service
An Excellent Service
Smooth and efficient throughout
An Excellent Service
The care and consideration of all Dale and Co staff is outstanding. ....take a bow !
Great Service
An Excellent Service
Wonderful fast and friendly service . Thank you.
I found that the virtual firm is not necessary as we were updated regularly by yourselves . Thank you!
Very pleased with how things were dealt with !
An Excellent Service
An Excellent Service
Recommended ; Good Service
First Class Service. Very Good Service and will definitely be recommending you to friends and family. Thank you for all your kind patience.
Excellent Service & with a "Smile"
Great Conveyancing Team. You will not get a better service. You might get as good, but you wont get better. Top Bananas. Thanks
An Excellent Service
I could not have found a better service and having my little dog Skye being made to feel so welcome too was a real added bonus .Thank you so very much
An Excellent Service
An Excellent Service
An Excellent Service - Recommended
An Excellent Service
Thank you for an extremely professional, friendly service. We would not hesitate in recommending you. So efficient.
The home visit to complete the signing of our Wills was arranged promptly for which we are grateful. Thank you
An Excellent/ Good Service
We were very happy with the service we received. Everybody we had dealings with was helpful , courteous and knowledgeable. Thank you.
As ever an efficient and friendly service . I would have no hesitation in recommending Dale and Co. to anyone.
Thank you Justine. For everything.
An Average Service
An Excellent Service
An Excellent Service
An Excellent Service
A Good Service
An Excellent Recommended Service - And a charming lady what's more !
Justine has been excellent - highly recommend her.
You need every confidence when you consider any legal process - to buy property, make a Will or Divorce. Call in and see us; meet someone from the team who will support you. Have a fresh coffee and help yourself to our free guides to understand more about our services. We are confident you will like us - we offer a first consultation free.
You will know who is doing your work by name - and they will know you. Our aim is to build trust and loyalty with you.
Contact us and we'll get back to on the next working day.
11 Beaumont Fee Lincoln Lincolnshire LN1 1UH United Kingdom
01522 513 399
Fax 01522 53 05 89
Opening hours.
Monday 9:15am 5:15pmCookies used on this website
Background Information on Cookies
Most websites you visit will use cookies in order to improve your user experience by enabling that website to ‘remember’ you, either for the duration of your visit (using a ‘session cookie’) or for repeat visits (using a ‘persistent cookie’).
Cookies do lots of different jobs, like letting you navigate between pages efficiently, storing your preferences, and generally improving your experience of a website. Cookies make the interaction between you and the website faster and easier. If a website doesn’t use cookies, it will think you are a new visitor every time you move to a new page on the site – for example, when you enter your login details and move to another page it won’t recognise you and it won’t be able to keep you logged in.
Some websites will also use cookies to enable them to target their advertising or marketing messages based for example, on your location and/or browsing habits.
Cookies may be set by the website you are visiting (‘first party cookies’) or they may be set by other websites who run content on the page you are viewing (‘third party cookies’).
What is in a cookie?
A cookie is a simple text file that is stored on your computer or mobile device by a website’s server and only that server will be able to retrieve or read the contents of that cookie. Each cookie is unique to your web browser. It will contain some anonymous information such as a unique identifier and the site name and some digits and numbers. It allows a website to remember things like your preferences or what’s in your shopping basket.
What to do if you don’t want cookies to be set
Some people find the idea of a website storing information on their computer or mobile device a bit intrusive, particularly when this information is stored and used by a third party without them knowing. Although this is generally quite harmless you may not, for example, want to see advertising that has been targeted to your interests. If you prefer, it is possible to block some or all cookies, or even to delete cookies that have already been set; but you need to be aware that you might lose some functions of that website.