Tag Archives: prenuptial agreements

Prenuptial Agreements To Become Legal in the UK?

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It seems the UK is closer than ever before to making prenuptial agreements legal.

There have been two different stories in the press this first week of February 2014:

Firstly, that the Matrimonial Property, Needs and Agreements paper is due be presented to the Justice Secretary prior to  before Parliament.

The news comes as Family Law Week  reports that this week the UK Courts enforced a prenuptial agreement that was being challenged by a wife seeking to overrule the agreement, however the Court decided after a careful review of the agreement, that it should be upheld, moving away from the more traditional stance of English courts in putting prenuptial agreements to one side.

However, it is unlikely this will become officially law until after the General Election which is due to take place next year.

In a Thailand prenuptial agreement, individuals can specify the properties involved and separate them into two categories joint property and individual property. Couples can also specify how finances will be managed during the marriage.

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European Prenuptial Agreements and the Hague Convention

Prenuptial Agreements in Japan – the Devil’s in the Details

Ex-Husband Asks Wife To Become Housekeeper

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The Telegraph reports that a businessman asked his ex-wife to carry on living in their marital home as a housekeeper after he moved in mistress in, and was apparently at a loss when she expressed her displeasure at his suggestion.

But she ended up with the last laugh, as on Wednesday 29 January 2014, the Family Division of the High Court ruled that she was entitled to nearly half of her former husband’s £13.6 million fortune.

Although the couple divorced during the 1990s they carried on living together, until he met another woman and moved her and her five year old daughter into the marital home.

She then moved out and sued for more than 6 million GBP. Her former husband argued she had previously agreed she would only ever be entitled to 3.4 million GBP, but she argued that was under duress.

This case highlights that a claim for financial assets does not necessarily need to be brought at the time of the divorce and can be brought at any time up until a new marriage happens.

It is also a helpful reminder of the benefits that prenuptial agreements bring as  litigation can be an unpredictable process.  In the event of a divorce, a prenuptial agreement can assist with dividing the marital assets. But be careful. A Thailand prenuptial agreement is null and void unless it is officially registered in Thailand before the marriage. In the US and other western countries, it is generally a private agreement between parties and is not registered with the government.

Read the full story here 

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Prenuptial Agreements: US Law, Thailand Law and EU Law Compared

International Prenuptial Agreements: Conflicts of Law in the United States

European Prenuptial Agreements and the Hague Convention

Prenuptial Agreements in Japan – the Devil’s in the Details

A Legal Comparison of Prenuptial Agreements in The US, Thailand and the EU

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With the rise of globalization and increased ease of travel, an international perspective is vital to most legal matters. Many countries have recognized the necessity of a uniform approach for the treatment of international prenuptial agreements and their legislatures have responded and indeed more couples are seeing the benefits of entering into a prenuptial agreement either to protect specific assets, or just for general peace of mind.

However if there are conflicting jurisdictions how do Courts deal with such issues?

Unfortunately, even if the parties’ try and plan ahead an and include a choice of law provision it can sometimes be the case that this offers more problems than it does solutions.

In Thailand if a prenuptial agreement  has conflicting jurisdictional issues, then the Thailand Conflict of Laws Act clarifies any international conflict of laws in Thailand, but sadly the situation is much less clear in the US, where couples can never be certain quite how the Courts will rule.

In the EU, the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Matrimonial Property Regimes presents a uniform and highly flexible approach to prenuptial agreements which again provides more certainty than the US presently do.

This article by Joe Leeds, manager of Chainat & Leeds law firm looks in more detail at how international prenuptial agreements are dealt with and carries out a detailed comparison of US law, Thailand law and EU law.

Read the full article here 

Prenuptial Agreements for Pets

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Following high profile cases involving English celebrities Nicole Appleton/Liam Gallagher and Charles Sataatchi/Nigella Lawson, more and more couples are now considering entering into a pet prenuptial agreement to resolve who retains custody of pets in the event of a split reports The Telegraph.

As pets are considered “property” of the couple they can form part of a prenuptial agreement, unlike child custody which is considered a separate issue. However many couples often think of pets as being like children, and this can in fact be one of the most stressful things to decide when a relationship breaks down, with 1/5 couples reporting it is as stressful as deciding child custody arrangements.

Stories of more and more  couples  in courts fighting over access rights to the pet are becoming more common place, and some are demanding maintenance for their pampered pooch.

A Thailand prenuptial agreement is null and void unless it is officially registered in Thailand before the marriage. In the US and other western countries, it is generally a private agreement between parties and is not registered with the government.

Read the full article here 

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Foreign Law Bans In The US

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A growing number of US states are giving consideration to banning international law, believing it to threaten their domestic court system.

Seven states have passed legislation since 2010 that bars state judges from considering foreign law in their decisions reports the USA Today. At least 25 other states have introduced similar measures. North Carolina last month became the seventh state to pass legislation barring judges from considering foreign law in their decisions.

The move would prevent judges from considering for example, sharia law or Islamic law, which is both a moral code and religious law that controls all aspects of Muslim life, ranging from religious obligations to family relationships.

Supporters of the new laws proclaim they will help protect American constitutional liberties,  whereas others are concerned about the impact that will be seen on international prenuptial agreements and business agreements. Missouri veoted the bill due to concerns about how international adoptions would be effected.

This is however certainly something that persons who formed contracts or prenuptial agreements or have strong cultural ties to foreign countries and laws.

In Thailand, the Conflict of Law Act controls any international conflicts.  The Act is divided into six main titles which each deal with a specialized area of law. If the parties do not have the same nationality, then the law of the country that the parties intended or are presumed to have intended to apply to their agreement will be applied by the court. Therefore by way of example, in a  Thailand divorce, the courts will use the laws of the nation where an international prenuptial agreement was signed will determine the validity of the agreement.

Read the full story here

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International Prenuptial Agreements: Conflicts of Law in the United States

Choice of Law in Contract and Thai Private International Law: A Comparative Study

Some Theoretical Remarks on Thai Private International Law Compared to the Continental and the Common Law Traditions