Marital property agreements (pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements)

Consultation paper

On 11 January 2011 we published a consultation paper.  This reviews the current law of marital property agreements, discusses options for reform and puts forward questions for consultees.  The consultation closes on 11 April 2011.

Other documents

We have prepared a summary of the consultation paper and a press release.

For the position in Ireland, compare the Report of the Study Group on Pre-nuptial Agreements (2007). Unless and until these reports are implemented, the leading case in the UK is Radmacher v Granatino[2010] UKSC 42 (20 October 2010); the most recent case in Ireland is S v S [2009] IEHC 579 (27 July 2009); and the leading case is still MacMahon v MacMahon [1913] IR 428, in which the Court of Appeal (Palles CB, Holmes and Cherry LJJ) held that pre-nuptial agreements were invalid, unless made between married but separated parties to achieve a re-union (though many of the authorities relied on in that case were less persuasive in Radmacher).