You’ve Been Married for Years. Is Your Financial Understanding Still the Same?

Have you been married for many years without ever formally revisiting how you both understand your finances?

Over time, couples often develop ways of managing money that become part of everyday life.

One account may have always been treated as individual. The family home may have always been considered shared. Investments, pensions or other assets may have grown considerably.

From my experience as a family lawyer, it can still be useful to check that what each person assumes is also what the other person understands.

Why Might You Revisit Your Arrangements?

Your financial circumstances may be very different from when you first married.

You may now have:

• More significant property interests

• Greater savings or investments

• Different income levels

• Business interests

• Family wealth

• Different financial responsibilities

A post-nuptial agreement provides a framework for reviewing those circumstances and recording the financial arrangements you have agreed.

What Can a Post-Nuptial Agreement Address?

Nuptial agreements can deal with assets, income and future earnings as well as how different categories of property are intended to be treated.

Both people should provide financial disclosure and obtain independent legal advice.

In my experience, couples who have been married for some time often have a much clearer picture of their financial lives than they did at the beginning of the marriage.

That can make it a useful time to consider whether the arrangements you understand between you should be formally recorded.

Have you been married for some time and are considering whether your financial arrangements should be formalised? Elizabeth Stocker is a consultant solicitor specialising in family law and nuptial agreements. She can advise you on whether a post-nuptial agreement may be appropriate.

Family Law Through Life, Relationships & Change

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