Prenuptial Agreement UK: What It Covers (2026)

What this document is

A prenuptial agreement, sometimes shortened to 'prenup', is a written agreement signed by two people who are planning to marry. It records what each person owns going into the marriage and sets out how they would like assets, debts, pensions, and income to be dealt with if they later divorce.

In the UK, a prenup is not strictly binding on a court. When a marriage ends, the court retains a discretion under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 to make financial orders that it considers fair in all the circumstances. However, judges will now often uphold a prenup provided it was entered into freely by both parties, with a full understanding of what they were signing up to, and provided the outcome is not unfair, particularly to any children of the family.

Prenups are especially common where one party has significant pre-marital wealth, owns a business, has inherited assets, is entering a second marriage, or wants to protect provision for children from a previous relationship. A similar agreement signed after the wedding is known as a postnuptial agreement.

How to use this document

1. Start the conversation early. Raise the idea of a prenup well before the wedding, ideally several months ahead. Leaving it until the last minute can give rise to arguments that one party was pressured into signing, which is one of the main reasons a court might decide to reduce the weight given to the agreement later on.
2. Set out full financial disclosure. Each person should prepare a clear picture of what they own and owe, covering property, savings, investments, business interests, pensions, inheritance expectations, and any debts. Without proper disclosure on both sides, a court is far less likely to treat the agreement as fair or binding when it matters.
3. Take separate legal input. Both parties should have their own independent legal adviser looking at the draft before signing. This helps demonstrate that each person understood the terms and the effect of signing, and removes any suggestion that one party simply signed whatever the other put in front of them.
4. Draft and negotiate the terms. The agreement itself should spell out how pre-marital assets, jointly acquired assets, income, pensions, and debts will be treated. It should also consider what happens if children arrive, if circumstances change significantly, or if the marriage lasts a long time, since rigid agreements can look unfair years later.
5. Sign, witness, and store safely. The prenup should be signed as a deed, witnessed, and dated at least 28 days before the wedding where possible, following the Law Commission's recommended practice. Keep the original in a safe place, give copies to each spouse, and consider reviewing the agreement after major life events such as the birth of a child.

Common questions