Pre-nuptial agreements

Yesterday, the long awaited decision in the Radmacher v Granatino case was announced by the Supreme Court, the highest court in England.

The court said that pre-nup agreements should be followed where they had been “freely entered into by each party with a full appreciation of implications unless in the circumstances prevailing it would not be fair to hold the parties to their agreement”.

Ms Radmacher (whose fortune is estimated to be £100 million) and Mr Granatino had signed a pre-nup stating that neither would make a financial claim against the other in the event of a divorce. However, the agreement did not anticipate children.

Mr Granatino was awarded a sum to pay his debts, a regular child maintenance sum (for when the children stayed with him) and two sums to purchase a house in London and Germany, with the ownership of both properties reverting to Ms Radmacher once the children had grown up. He received no share of his wife’s fortune in accordance with the pre-nup.

However, was this decision fair and would the award have been higher if it had been a woman in Mr Granatino’s position? Let us have your views!

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Read more about the Author of this article, Natasha Crocker.