Myths about Prenups

2016 brought us some shocking headlines.

First, the Beyoncé and Jay Z rumours (who is Becky with the good hair?). Then came the Brangelina split, where we all remembered that they were indeed two separate people. And then the Kimye drama with Kanye being rushed into hospital and Kim papped without her infamous diamond ring.

However, they all had one thing in common if the tabloid rumours about getting divorced were true – they all had prenups.

Beyoncé would receive $5million dollars for having Blue Ivy with Jay Z, and $1million for each year she was married to him ($9million) and get to keep the $5million ring.

Angelina would get custody of all 6 children.

Kim Kardashian would walk away with $1million for each year she was married to Kanye, the Bel Air mansion, all the jewellery Kanye bought her (which is a lot less now after the infamous November 2016 Paris robbery) and is also the beneficiary of Kanye’s $20million life insurance.

For those couples, the prenup will certainly help them if they ever did get divorced.

However, one notable couple who did not have a prenup was Madonna and Guy Ritchie. Madonna forked out over $92million dollars to end her marriage with the director, but luckily, she was worth $650million…

Essentially, a prenup, or prenuptial agreement, is a legal document that sets out how important issues, such as property division and spousal support, will be divided in case the marriage ends in divorce or one of the spouses dies. There are many myths surrounding prenups:

1. Prenups are only for wealthy people.

Not true. Prenups allow couples to decide how major issues will be decided rather than letting a court who does not know the intricacies of the relationship decide. The couple can decide for themselves how they want their assets divided or who should have custody of the children.

2. Prenups lead to divorce.

“Are you making me sign this because you don’t trust me?” Unfortunately, this is just a Hollywood spin on prenups. They are just legal documents setting out issues that the couple thinks are important if they were ever to split. Many couples just want to make sure the assets they enter a relationship with are safe if the couple decide to go their separate ways.

3. Prenups are not upheld by courts.

This is false. Although there are instances when courts do not uphold a prenuptial agreement, this most often occurs when the rules and guidelines concerning the preparation of the prenup is not followed. Generally speaking, however, a well-written prenup that abides by legal standards has a good chance of being upheld in court.

If you need any help or have a query about prenups, please get in touch Louise Higham, Head of Family – louise.higham@cookco.co.uk.

Don’t end up like Madonna and Guy, be like Kimye and Brangelina!