Prenup agreements await 'landmark judgment'

Soon-to-be-married couples will move a step closer to learning whether it is worth the time, expense and emotional strain of drawing up a prenuptial agreement. On Monday the Supreme Court will begin a hearing to decide whether to overrule a "landmark" judgment on prenuptial agreements delivered by the Court of Appeal last July. It decided that such agreements, although not fully enforceable in the UK, should be taken into account by judges who are dividing a divorcing couple's assets.

At the centre of the case was a prenuptial agreement drawn up by German heiress Katrin Radmacher, said to be worth £100m, and her former husband Nicolas Granatino. He had agreed not to make any claims on her wealth if their marriage failed, but was awarded £5.85m on divorcing in 2008.

Radmacher's appeal court victory resulted in her former husband's award being cut to a lump sum of £1m in lieu of maintenance, plus a fund of £2.5m for a house that must be returned when the youngest of their two daughters is 22.

But Granatino was given permission to take the case to the Supreme Court. The hearing will decide the status of all prenuptial agreements in England and Wales.

"Family lawyers will be eagerly anticipating the outcome, as the judgment could fundamentally alter the face of divorce law in this country," says Suzanne Kingston, head of the family department at London law firm Dawsons.

Barbara Reeves, of London firm Mishcon de Reya agrees, saying the Supreme Court should clarify contradictory judgments of the case and a 2008 case, also heard in the UK, involving American millionaires Roderick and Marcia MacLeod.

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