Meghan Markle and Prince Harry reportedly have not signed a prenuptial agreement before their May wedding. The Prince has an estimated net worth of £28 million, and Ms Markle’s net worth is estimated at around £3.7 million following her acting career.
According to a Royal expert it isn’t within royal protocol to sign prenuptial agreements.
Katie Nicholl, author of Harry: Life, Loss, and Love. “It’s commonplace with celebrity marriage, but this is not a celebrity marriage, it’s a royal marriage.”
Pre-nuptial Agreements are not only relevant to the rich and famous. They are likely to have growing significance to couples who are marrying for the second time, Like Meghan Markle. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics in 2008 estimated that almost 40% of the marriages in the UK were second marriages and divorce rates were especially high for couples the second time around.
At Major Family Law, we have observed a growing trend in the volume of clients who seek our assistance following the breakdown of a second marriage. These clients often entered into their second marriage with significantly greater wealth than their spouse and are understandably concerned about their financial position should they divorce.
Second marriages can be more complicated, as there are often children from previous relationships to consider, as well as, pre-owned assets. A Pre-nuptial Agreement could be the answer as couples can determine, which of their pre-owned assets should remain “untouched” in the event of divorce.
Pre-nups can also protect wealth acquired within the marriage, should one party receive a family gift or an inheritance which the other party has not contributed to.
A specialist family law solicitor can advise you of the difficulties such an agreement could also create, the uncertainty as to the effectiveness of a proposed agreement and that the law of course may change in the future.
Finally some advice; “don’t marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can’t live without”.