Filed for Divorce, Yet Living Together: Why a Couple Signed a Post-Nuptial Agreement.

Family Matters After the Wedding

According to The Sun: My wedding day was one of the happiest days of my life, but just two years after we said 'I do', my husband and I were already discussing our divorce.

Each of us hired a lawyer, discussed who would get what in the event of a divorce, and signed the paperwork. Yet for now, we remain together.

Sunday materials editor Jane Atkinson and her husband signed the details of their divorce just two years after the wedding Jane and Chris on their big day Happy couple decided to sign a prenuptial agreement in case of a divorce to avoid conflicts

We are part of a growing number of British couples who are thinking about the future in the form of a post-nuptial agreement – just in case difficulties arise.

Online searches for the term 'post-nuptial agreement' have increased by 200 percent over the past year, indicating a practical approach many are taking to their future.

We all know the old saying: the person you marry is not always the one you divorce.

Since our small wedding, nearly a quarter of the couples from the guest list have sadly divorced.

I'm sure my husband and I could also face problems if our divorces became bitter and complicated.

For now, we are happy, divorce is not on our agenda, and our marriage has been one of the best decisions of our lives. However, after our wedding, we saw several couples from our guest list split due to infidelity, deception, and general relationship fatigue.

I know one friend whose legal fees exceeded £40,000, and they still haven't settled their custody agreement.

Looking at that, I realized I wanted to prepare for a future that I hope will never come, but I can't be naive thinking it can't happen to us.

Divorce Contracts

Many people know about prenuptial agreements — a legal contract that a couple enters into before marriage, specifying how their assets will be divided in the event of a divorce. Such agreements can protect property acquired before marriage, inheritances, business interests, and assets designated for children from previous relationships.

While these contracts are not fully binding in the UK, if they are signed voluntarily with full financial disclosure and independent legal advice, courts usually take them into consideration.

We agreed that if we separated, we would keep what we brought into the marriage, along with our pensions.

We found a company called Wenup which specializes in marriage and post-marriage contracts, and their services cost us only £1,380 due to their online format.

Co-founders, entrepreneur James Bruckner and former lawyer Mohsin Zaidi, started this company three years ago to make legal documents understandable for people without a legal background.

James noted: “We wanted to make them accessible to everyone, regardless of means, to protect people from high costs and conflicts in the event of a divorce.”

According to the latest data from 2023, there were 110,149 divorces in the UK. The most basic divorce will cost you about £2,000, but it can run into tens of thousands due to legal fees.

Other Couples are Also Considering Their Future

James says: “We have seen an increase in the popularity of post-nuptial agreements since our launch. Many couples initially wanted to sign a prenuptial agreement but didn’t manage to get it sorted before the wedding.”

Such agreements can be a good way to protect gifts or inheritances received during marriage, particularly given changes in inheritance laws.

We signed our contract over a glass of wine with our witnesses. They believe we made a wise decision, and I am sure more people should consider this, especially when marrying at an older age.

We are not fun-loving 20-year-olds, we are smart, we know what life can bring, says Jane In light of modern changes in social norms, more couples are becoming aware of the necessity of legal protection for their interests. The rise of post-nuptial agreements indicates a mature approach to relationships, where couples are looking to avoid conflicts in the future. It is important to understand that such tools are not sufficient to maintain relationships, but they can significantly ease the process in case difficulties arise.