Unfortunately, pre-nuptial agreements are not legally binding, but courts can take them into account. An agreement that was fair when entered into may not be fair at the time that that the parties to the agreement separate. The court will not uphold an agreement that they believe to be inherently unfair at the point of separation.

These include:

• Helps to avoid the potential for animosity between the parties
• Enables the protection of assets already owned by one party before the relationship commenced or that are likely to be received in the future, such as inheritance
• Enables assets to be preserved for the benefit of children from a previous relationship
• Avoids significant legal costs being incurred upon separation.

Often, when a relationship comes to an end, the added burden of deciding how to divide assets can create further tension in an already potentially acrimonious situation.

Having a pre-nuptial agreement in place allows for each party to know how martial and non-marital assets will be separated and divided between the parties upon separation. As such, it allows for the division of assets to be decided at a time when both parties had clear minds about how they would wish for their assets to be proportioned upon separation without having to make such decision with the background of a potentially acrimonious separation.