No. In England and Wales, the courts have the final say and are not bound by the terms of a pre-nuptial agreement. However, such agreements may be important evidence of what the parties intend to happen. They are now proving to be increasingly influential particularly in the case of short, childless marriages. The existence of a pre-nuptial agreement will be one of many factors which the court will have to consider.
Quite how influential a pre-nuptial agreement will be in given circumstances will depend upon a number of factors:
- Was the agreement entered into a reasonable period before the marriage took place?
- Did each of the parties have independent legal advice before the agreement was signed?
- Did each party make full disclosure of financial and other relevant matters?
- Are the terms of the agreement fair when looked at from the viewpoint of what a court might award?
- Did either party apply any undue pressure?
The English court may well take into account what the outcome as regards the agreement would have been if a case had been dealt with abroad.