A Comparative View of Pre-Nuptial Agreements

Dr Jens M Scherpe, Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge. Whereas pre-nuptial agreements are principally seen as binding on the continent, they are not in England and Wales. However, recent decisions, and of course particularly Miller v Miller; McFarlane v McFarlane [2006] UKHL 24, [2006] 1 FLR 1186, have caused some to renew their call to give pre-nuptial agreements greater importance in this country. This article considers the way Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Germany approach these agreements. It considers the principle of equal division, the position in these countries of periodic payments and maintenance, and the workings of pre-nuptial and separation agreements generally before comparing these against the analogous position in England and Wales and considers what this jurisdiction could learn from the approach of its European counterparts to these agreements.

See March [2007] International Family Law for the full article.

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