All’s fair in love and divorce

The demand for prenuptial agreements (prenups) has risen over the past decade for multiple reasons. Protecting an inheritance is important and with more couples marrying later in life, they’re often acquiring more assets independently. Then there are couples embarking on second and subsequent marriages who have already been through a settlement.

As well as prenups there are postnups and agreements made within marriages and de facto relationships – and they all come under the broad term of a binding financial agreement (BFA). Lawyers often work with financial advisers and accountants to draft the agreements. People who have been through previous settlements often want to keep finances separate but share holiday expenses or day-to-day living costs. This maintains a degree of financial separation and protects the parties against inheritance issues, says Vanessa Mathews, a director at Mathews Family Law.

The most common reason for having a BFA drafted during a relationship or marriage