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Prenup & Postnup

Our London family solicitors prepare carefully structured agreements for couples with straightforward finances as well as substantial, business or international assets. We will explain what makes an agreement more likely to be upheld and help you put suitable arrangements in place.

Arona St James Solicitors63 St James Street, London E17 7PJ
020 8175 5000

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Discussing finances before or during a marriage can feel uncomfortable, but it is often one of the most constructive and protective steps a couple can take. A nuptial agreement provides clarity, reduces uncertainty and can help avoid costly disputes in the future.

Our prenuptial and postnuptial agreement solicitors in London advise individuals and couples on preparing clear, carefully structured agreements that reflect their intentions and financial circumstances (often referred to as “prenups” and “postnups”). Whether you are planning to marry or are already in a marriage or civil partnership, we provide pragmatic and balanced advice at every stage.

We act for clients across London and the South East, including Walthamstow, East London and Central London. From straightforward asset protection to complex high-net-worth and international arrangements, we ensure agreements are robust, fair and tailored to your situation.

Every relationship is different, and any agreement should reflect both your financial position and your shared expectations for the future.

Who We Help

We advise a wide range of clients in relation to nuptial agreements, including:

  • Individuals seeking to protect pre-existing assets, property or inherited wealth
    • Business owners and professionals looking to safeguard business interests
    • Couples entering a second marriage, particularly where there are children from previous relationships
    • High-net-worth individuals with complex financial arrangements, trusts or international assets
    • LGBTQ+ couples entering into marriage or civil partnership with bespoke financial arrangements
    • Individuals concerned about protecting family wealth or addressing financial imbalance

We understand that these discussions can feel sensitive. Our approach is constructive and discreet, helping you reach an agreement that provides clarity while maintaining trust between you.

Types of Nuptial Agreements

Prenuptial Agreement

A prenuptial agreement is entered into before marriage or civil partnership. It sets out how assets, income and liabilities are to be dealt with if the relationship later breaks down.

Prenuptial agreements typically address:
• Property owned before the marriage
• Business interests or family companies
• Inherited or gifted wealth
• Savings, pensions and investments
• Financial provision on separation

Although not automatically binding under English law, courts will give significant weight to a properly prepared prenuptial agreement, particularly where it is fair and both parties have entered into it freely and with full understanding.

Postnuptial Agreement

A postnuptial agreement is entered into after a marriage or civil partnership. The key difference from a prenuptial agreement is timing. It allows couples to formalise financial arrangements at a later stage.

Postnuptial agreements are commonly used:
• Where no prenuptial agreement was put in place before marriage
• Following receipt of an inheritance or significant financial gift
• After changes in business or financial circumstances
• As part of reconciliation following relationship difficulties

Postnuptial agreements are treated in the same way as prenuptial agreements by the court and are likely to be upheld where they are fair, properly prepared and entered into freely.

Our Approach

We approach nuptial agreements with care and sensitivity, recognising that these conversations are often personal. Our role is to guide you through the process clearly and without unnecessary complexity.

We focus on achieving an outcome that:
• Protects your financial position
• Reflects what has been agreed between you
• Stands up to scrutiny if later considered by the court

Where appropriate, we work collaboratively with both parties’ solicitors to reach a balanced and workable agreement.

Key Considerations

Are Nuptial Agreements Legally Binding?

Nuptial agreements are not strictly binding in England and Wales. However, they are highly persuasive and are often upheld by the court where certain conditions are met.

The court is more likely to follow an agreement where:
• Both parties have taken independent legal advice
• There has been full and frank financial disclosure
• The agreement has been entered into freely, without pressure
• The terms are fair and meet both parties’ needs

We ensure each of these elements is properly addressed.

Financial Disclosure

Full transparency is essential to the effectiveness of any agreement. This includes disclosure of:
• Property and land
• Savings, pensions and investments
• Business interests
• Liabilities and debts

Without full and frank disclosure, an agreement is far less likely to be upheld by the court.

Fairness and Future Needs

The court retains ultimate discretion, particularly where needs are concerned. Any agreement must allow for both parties’ reasonable needs, and those of any children.

We advise on structuring agreements that are realistic, balanced and less vulnerable to challenge.

International and Complex Assets

Where assets are held abroad or one or both parties have international connections, additional considerations arise.

We advise on:
• Structuring agreements to take account of assets held in different jurisdictions
• Jurisdictional issues on divorce
• The likely recognition and treatment of nuptial agreements in other countries
• Working alongside overseas lawyers where appropriate

Protecting Family Wealth and Business Interests

Nuptial agreements play an important role in protecting family wealth, particularly where there are business interests, trusts or inherited assets.

They can also provide clarity in blended families, helping to safeguard assets for children from previous relationships while ensuring fairness between spouses.

Talk to a Family Solicitor

If you are considering a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, our London team can provide clear, practical advice tailored to your circumstances.

We focus on achieving agreements that offer certainty, protect your interests and provide long-term peace of mind.

Call 020 8175 5000 or contact us to speak with a family solicitor.

Important

This page contains general legal information only and does not constitute legal advice. The law may change and its application will depend on the specific circumstances of your case. You should seek tailored advice from a qualified solicitor.

FAQs

A prenuptial agreement is entered into before marriage or civil partnership, whereas a postnuptial agreement is made afterwards. Both set out how finances should be dealt with if the relationship ends.

Client reviews

What clients say about our prenup & postnup team

4.9 average from 173 reviews on Google
  • I would highly recommend Arona St James solicitors. I had Phoebe Chau working on my family matters case. She did this with great care, compassion and clarity. She was extremely good with communication every step of the way. She kept me informed throughout the process and was highly professional. I am most grateful for her dedication and support. Thank you Phoebe!
  • I highly recommend Arona Sarwar an immigration solicitor from Arona St James for her expertise with my ILR case as a child dependent to a skilled worker especially as I am now an adult. We had to work with the firm about my dependency and explore the continuous residence carefully, the case worker guidance was looked at as this can change throughout the several months and a grant emerged. I was nervous as I could not travel at firm due to my studies and time out exceeded the period but was discounted in the end which settled my anxiety over a possible refusal. My case as you can see had a few complications, but the immigration solicitors understood how children under support of their parents don’t live independently for some time once they turn 18. Arona Sarwar insights helped us a lot through this process and I can now just enjoy being young again without what the news alarming me that my future is uncertain. I highly recommend this small female run law firm which to me is incredibly knowledgable, well established, and diverse. I highly recommend this law firm for skilled worker dependents ILR advice.
  • I would highly recommend Arona St James solicitors. I had Phoebe Chau working on my family matters case. She did this with great care, compassion and clarity. She was extremely good with communication every step of the way. She kept me informed throughout the process and was highly professional. I am most grateful for her dedication and support. Thank you Phoebe!
  • I’ve used Arona St James for many years, especially for family, my Wills and other matters, and I’ve always been met with honesty, professionalism, and clear guidance no matter how difficult or complicated things have been. I’m very grateful to Arona and Phoebe for their expertise and professionalism, and to the whole team for being so supportive. They treat me with respect, understanding, and humanity, which makes a big difference during these challenging times. Thank you.
  • I recently used the checking-in service offered by Arona St James Solicitors for my British citizenship application, and I was thrilled with the results. Arona Sarwar checked my application for merit and eligibility, ensuring every detail was in order once I had provided all the necessary documents. One aspect that particularly stood out was her assistance with a challenging question about my marital status on the form. Despite the seemingly straightforward nature of the question, I was uncertain about how best to answer it to avoid any doubts from the Home Office agent reviewing my application. Arona provided me with two clear and simple sentence options to address this concern. I submitted my application on August 20th, 2024, and by October 7th, I received an email from UKVI confirming that my application had been successful. The entire process was efficient, and stress free, thanks to Arona’s guidance. This wasn't my 1st positive experience with Arona St James Solicitors. They also successfully assisted me with my settlement application in 2019, providing the same level of expertise. I wholeheartedly recommend the checking-in service provided by this firm.Their attention to detail and efficiency at untangling complex situations truly set them apart. If you are looking for reliable and efficient assistance with your immigration matters, look no further than Arona St James Solicitors. Thanks Arona for making this process easy and ensuring my success!
  • I have known Arona Sarwar, Solicitor, for over 5 years, and she handles all my immigration affairs and other advice when I need it; she is supportive, highly knowledgeable and a very tactical solicitor. Her staff are friendly and also assist, so you feel supported by her team. I have just got my British Passport and now run a successful small business in London. I highly recommend those applying to seek her advice, as she is one of the best immigration solicitors out there and should be shouted about a lot more. I celebrate Arona St. James Solicitors as a firm enriched with diversity, my money goes to support the right business with huge expertise and will not be forgotten from my side, highly value this firm.
  • I have lived in the UK for over 10 years relied on other solicitors but this firm changed my life, worked hard during this pandemic to help me successfully win my case and I would always recommend this firm as brilliant set of solicitors to work with expertise is formidable and very outcome based. I had the head of the team Arona Sarwar and her caseworker Emma work together to secure my win. Highly recommend
  • To try and obtain a settlement visa during a Covid lockdown was going to be a challenge, but Arona and her team did just that. She had the patience, expertise and access to key people in order for my application to be processed quickly. She understood our urgency and explored every option wherever we needed it. We highly recommend her with great confidence.
  • As an Egyptian who applied for asylum (international protection) in the UK I met with several immigration lawyers. They were helpful to me but the most helpful, and the person who had the most in-depth knowledge of both the conditions in Egypt and of my situation as a gay man was Arona Sarwar of Arona St James. She impressed me because she knew exactly what information was relevant to support my claim for international protection and she knew how to draft an effective personal statement and eliminate background information that was not relevant. I would therefore recommend her to anyone and especially to people from the Middle East who want a solicitor that has insightful and she is in my opinion, an outstanding solicitor who will guide you through this very difficult process. I got a distinction in my Master’s and I can’t wait to settle down in my career and build my home in the UK.
  • I had been here in 9years and fought to get international protection. I had 5 firms before I found Arona St James so I can compare the legal team here against others. From the outset firm had time for me, they listened to me, where I felt defeated and low they encouraged me to get to a happy place and then took my history. I felt supported that I could talk freely more to them which made the difference and I have no doubt this helped me secure my stay. This firm is incredibly knowledgeable and have years of experience within the field of immigration law and with dealing with a person’s case through to succession. A lot of the media talk about hostile environment faced by immigrants so having a strong law firm that supports you I think he is key when selecting your legal representative. The biggest step for me was first meeting with them and being told that they would act. I would encourage those who have strong cases and poor representation to go to Arona St James and you will find a brilliant Immigration Law firm, that will be honest and engaging with you. If they take on your case they will fight it like no other firm that I have dealt with in the past. They followed up on my immigration case, which had been stagnate for years at the Home Office, they accompanied me to my appointments and advised me throughout ( by phone, by email, and through our meetings) so I was confident handling myself more. They prepared my evidence for my hearing and instructed an exceptional barrister, again it was important that I felt relaxed around her, and from my initial meeting I knew she understood my plight, it was clear she had read the papers and fought my case. My solicitor Arona Sarwar is a powerful solicitor, when you meet her and work with her you know you are in safe hands, she is strategic and her legal expertise in this field is obvious, her presence is felt. Arona St James prepared my case for the hearing and for UKVI and this assisted my win. Without this firm I would not have secured my stay and I highly recommend them to all immigration clients.
  • I was recommended to Arona Sarwar of Arona St James.  I am from Yemen and worked all my adult life as a police officer in the Dubai Police Force.  I lost my job and my residency, whilst I came to visit my wife in the UK.  Recently I was awarded Humanitarian Protection thanks to Arona Sarwar, as it is unsafe for me to return to Yemen.  I am restarting my life with my family.  I am now in a safe place and away from harm’s way.  Yemen is a place of unrest and remains an unsafe country. This law firm has a great team of Immigration caseworkers who work long and hard on cases.  I was accompanied to all my interviews and represented.  I felt supported throughout and you noticed how determined Arona was to fight for me.  She ensured she got to know me, my family before finalising my arguments. Also my family were pleased with having her on board. I would recommend her to those who want an intelligent confident solicitor that just makes you feel she will not give up.  You know from the beginning she has the experience and will do what’s best for you.    I am protected and sleep well at night now.  My life has changed for the better. A big Thank you to everyone at Arona St James Solicitors
  • I am Hungarian EEA national. I applied for my permanent residence with my husband and was treated very poorly by the Home Office, they raided my home. The officers were quite hostile to me as my husband had moved out and I had not informed them. I thought up until I divorce I am still married, so could not see why they were shouting at me …….that I had lied to them and that It was too late and I would have to leave the UK. I have been in a relationship with my husband since 2009 and they made me feel like a criminal. I spoke with Arona about the visit, she intervened and made urgent representations addressing them that my husband would qualify for stay under retained rights as if I had divorced my husband he would still qualify and resolved matters for us both swiftly. This was important for me as well as I was securing my permanent residence and the whole process was unfair, they took three months and I was in limbo about my rights and my husbands. I have known Arona since 2010, she helped us secure our residence certificates. What I would like to say Arona Sarwar was very supportive, patient, understanding during our difficult period and her expertise just shines through, the ease at which she is able to unpick the mess and present it fairly and transparently helped us resolve all our affairs properly. For me she is one of the best Immigration solicitors around. Words can not express how grateful we are to her and her team. We can get on with our lives now Arona Sarwar is best of the best out there. Highly recommend her for her expertise and the best person to turn to on complex cases.
  • My journey with my solicitor, Arona Sarwar, is one of Tier 1 Investment client through to settlement. I came to the UK initially as an undergraduate student and remained one until I had secured my doctorate. As time passes, I realized that I belong here, and I started to nest. I slowly but surely moved much of my possessions over from New York including my prized Steinway piano and consequently decided to switch to an investment visa. Arona had helped me with the initial transition and then helped again to apply for my extension. On both occasions, I had elected the Super Premium Service. During the extension, I fell short in the investment funds that were invested due to a logistical error on my part, but she argued my case with the investment team at UKVI and successfully secured my grant, too my relief. I maintained my investments and recently applied for settlement. I am pleased to confirm that Arona had secured this for me despite the fact that I had only given her instructions a day before the expiration of my visa. She had dropped everything and worked very hard to resolve any issues which have arisen as a result. I can state that she is knowledgeable, meticulous, versatile and exceptionally talented immigration solicitor that I could and do always turn to whenever I need advise. Having a relaxed approach towards clients combined with a very tough and confident approach with the other side can be seen with time. One can notice the ease, at which she works, and that is reflection on her years of experience, which gave me comfort that I was in safe hands. I would advocate any commercial, high-networth immigration applicants to ensure they contact Arona for a honest opinion and successful approach. She certainly went on a journey with me, and I will no doubt turn to her when it is time to apply for nationality as I do have every confidence in her having ability and temperament to help me again in the future.
  • I have known Arona Sarwar through my business dealings with her for several years, through my accountancy practice, as she advices many of our high net worth business clients on business visa’s and investment routes into the UK. She is a highly regarded and respected practitioner. Our practice has instructed magic circle firms but have found her knowledge and legal service outshines their, her hands on approach and quick mind allows my practice to call her to strategically assess our clients needs and find the right solution. We have seen her take on cases and see them through positively. I personally used her services to apply for my wife's application for a UK visa under the priority service. As always I found her to be extremely helpful and knowledgeable with exceptional client care skills. Brilliance
  • I do not think I can put it in words just how brilliant Arona's law firm has been when dealing with my case. I must be their longest running case in their books and not due to the fact that they were not dealing with my case but because I was always too scared to move forward. Sometimes you are not ready to deal with things and that for me has been a long process. However due to Arona's patience and gentle persuasion, we were able to finally put forward my legal case. Arona's immigration team were brilliant; Jessica and Deborah (counsel) formed part of my formidable legal team. From the outset, they got to grips with my case and I could see that they got to know me in depth, understanding my personal situation., in order for me to secure international protection. it is noticable that Arona's team are incredibly committed to the LGTBQ issues and do all they can to help their clients. More importantly they make them feel comfortable and safe, something that is not easily achieved given what most all LGTBQ people seeking asylum has had to endure in their own unsafe country. Without Arona I would not have been granted my leave to remain, I am sure of that, the firm's hard work and determination got us here. Even after the home office refusal there was no doubt in their minds I needed to secure international protection, pushing forward with my case and vase managing my appeal; which we of course we won. All I can say is thank you team Arona Sarwar and to her team, Jessica and Deborah, you are simply the best immigration lawyers. And I will be recommending your firm to anyone who needs legal advice without a second thought.
  • Arona Sarwar was recommended to me. She has acted for my partner and secured his residence card, post a difficult time getting married. She also just secured my permanent residence as an EEA under the self employed route in a very difficult climate. Brilliant mind. Always on the other end of the line. Will always turn to her for my personal and business immigration needs and the ones of friends and family, to whom I will definitely keep recommending her. Sheer brilliance
  • Six years ago my partner and I were deeply worried with his status but fortunately after changing our immigration lawyers and having the step by step guidance Arona Sarwar and her friendly and dedicated team we are enjoying our lives together. We now use Arona Sarwar for all our immigration needs. I can wholeheartedly recommend their services.
  • I was desperately looking for a good lawyer to take on my asylum case. I first met Arona Sarwar in and around January, 2015. She took my case on, helped me from when I applied, she accompanied me to the Home Office with me and advice me on my application. I secured international protection two months after having had my substantive interview. I was over the moon and relieved that I can now begin to live my life. I can’t describe the weight that has been lifted off my shoulder. During my case preparation I met with Arona Sarwar every week. She is not only a good lawyer, she is understanding and friendly to those with asylum case, this helped me enormously as I felt so comfortable to share with her private aspects of my life. I appreciate the hours spent preparing my case and this gave me hope. Her dedication for clients is 100%. I am happy and completely satisfied with the legal advice received. I highly recommend her to those who are going to claim asylum in UK. I am sure you won’t be disappointed.

Arrange a confidential consultation

Contact us today via email on assistance@aronastjames.co.uk or via telephone on 020 8175 5000 to arrange a confidential consultation and discuss your circumstances with one of our family solicitors.