The recent marriage of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce begs the question ‘Did They Have a Pre-Nuptial Agreement?’.

There is no doubt that both parties to this marriage are wealthy in their own right, but Taylor Swift’s wealth is likely to far exceed that of Travis, and she will surely have been advised to protect her wealth from any possible future claims.

It is sometimes hard when parties are in love and planning a lifetime together to raise questions about what will happen financially if the marriage breaks down. However, the cases we deal with demonstrate why consideration to a Pre-Nuptial Agreement is so important, particularly in cases where parties bring different assets to a marriage.

People with even modest assets are now considering Pre-Nuptial Agreements especially given the rise in the ages of those marrying for the first time and in the number of second marriages. Those marrying in their 30’s and 40’s for the first time are often property owners with acquired or inherited assets.

On divorce, whilst a Judge is not automatically bound by the terms of a Pre-Nuptial Agreement and will consider a number of factors in determining what weight to give that agreement, parties will usually be bound by the terms of an agreement provided certain requirements have been adhered to.  

In general, the Court will consider:

• Have the parties exchanged sufficient financial disclosure to ensure they understand each other’s financial positions?
• Have both parties had independent legal advice?
• Is the agreement adequately drafted and are its terms clear and unambiguous?
• Any duress either party was under at the time of signing the agreement.
• The closeness of the signing of the agreement to the date of the marriage is a consideration.
• The fairness of the agreement in light of the length of the marriage, subsequent birth of children and significant changes in their circumstances.

In a recent case which is presently before the UK Court, Thea Bartok, a British Actress who married Angelique Brumner, an American entrepreneur who is reputedly worth £225million. They had a marriage in Hawaii in 2019, but it was later found that Thea’s marriage to her husband had not been completely finalised at the time of the marriage.

A marriage in the USA was then arranged which had to be cancelled due to COVID. The pair finally married in 2020. Whilst the issue of a Pre-Nuptial Agreement had not been raised previously, shortly before the 2020 marriage, Angelique asked Thea to enter into a Pre-Nup which stipulated Thea would get nothing in the event the marriage broke down.

Thea states she felt under ‘immense pressure’ to enter into the agreement which, it is understood, was signed 24 hours before the wedding. The marriage broke down 6 years later. Whilst the UK Court is presently determining whether the correct jurisdiction to hear the case is the UK or US, it is likely the closeness of the signing of the agreement to the marriage, will be a factor, particularly in the UK.

It is therefore imperative that an agreement is properly drafted by an expert solicitor with experience in drafting complex Pre-Nuptial Agreements to ensure all appropriate issues are considered and addressed as many agreements we see are not worth the paper they are written on.