Radmacher V Granatino

Radmacher V Granatino Pre Nuptial Agreement

Pre-nuptial agreements have effectively been given official status in British law after a German heiress won a landmark ruling to withhold the vast majority of £100 million fortune from her ex-husband.

Katrin Radmacher and Nicolas Granatino signed a marriage contract in 1998 agreeing that neither would seek money from the other if their relationship fell apart. When they separated in 2006 Mr Granatino claimed that the agreement was fundamentally unfair even though he was awarded a settlement of nearly £6 million.

Although Ms Radmacher is German and her ex-husband is French it was left to the Supreme Court in London to decide the outcome as they had married and divorced in this country.

The Judges ruled that as both parties had entered into the agreement of their own free will the pre-nuptial agreement should stand.

The decision means a hugely important change in English law as pre-nuptials are now binding as long as they are fair.

It is imperative that the pre-nuptial agreement is drafted in the correct way and using the correct procedure to comply with this new ruling.

The agreement will have to be executed as a deed, there will have to financial disclosure and both parties will require legal advice.

This was one of the main features in this case. The matter becomes complicated when children are born within the marriage but Mr Granatino in this case received £35,000.00 a year per child, a house paid for in London and a property in France until Chloe the child is 22 years old which will be in 14 years time. His debts of £700,000.00 have also been paid by Ms Radmacher.

There have been various views expressed as to the effect of this ruling. It is likely to lead to more pre-nuptial agreements being widely used. One view is that the Supreme Court has created a rich man’s charter to drive a hard bargain prior to marriage.

It is likely that parliament will now legislate in respect of pre-nuptial agreements as the Court can still interpret an agreement as unfair however because of this decision the Court is far more likely to uphold the terms of such an agreement.

It is essential therefore that if you are considering a pre-nuptial agreement to contact to Tim Giles of the family department as soon as possible.

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