The Royal family of the United Kingdom made head lines worldwide this past week when it was unveiled that Prince William will wed his long-term sweetheart, Kate Middleton. Ending years of rumours and going through a quick separation, Prince William and Kate Middleton have been seeing one another for quit some time. The royal engagement announcement saw a media hurricane beginning with speculation on from the venue, wedding day and also the wedding outfit.
Even though most people are delighted for the recently engaged couple, the cynics among us may be thinking something else. With divorces higher than in the past, lots of people are looking at a prenuptial agreement to ensure that their properties and assets remain protected if a divorce ever happen. To many people, this may appear like taking out the romance and undermining the wedding vows. Yet, as with all things, you cannot foresee what’s ahead and you can’t be certain just what the future entails.
The Royal family has seen divorces in the past and while ex-members of the Royal family are not necessarily neglected, the wedding next year may be the most modern Royal marriage yet. Modern times come new notions and prenuptials are quickly becoming common, especially in Western society.
Just what would a prenup be like in the Royal family? Members of the Royal family have a lot of public duties but possibly more significantly, an exponential increase in public interest and visibility. Nonetheless, we have witnessed that if a Royal marriage sadly does end in a breakup, while it can lead to a lucrative speaking career, it can also result in financial uncertainty when individuals have become acquainted with a different lifestyle.
Prenuptial arrangements work by making sure that should a couple become divorced, their financial assets remain their’s and are not split between the parties. Traditionally, both parties are entitled to 50% of the earnings of the marriage period. This is to say, if one of the parties did not earn during the marital life, they’d be capable of get a large amount of their partner’s earnings. This has ended in divorce pay outs above $500 million.
Arguably a Royal divorcee would likely still be cared for to some degree by the Royal Household, even if there was not a prenuptial agreement. Having said this, a Royal couple getting married would probably not get a prenuptial contract – especially because prenuptial contracts have contested legality in the UK.
However, a recent divorce settlement saw a prenuptial contract validated in court, perhaps suggesting a social and legal change in thinking. This might mean that law firms, such as IBB Solicitors, are starting to pay more and more attention to prenuptial agreements. It shall be interesting to see the way the landscape of divorce law transforms if more couples sign prenuptial contracts in Great Britain and the way lawyers such as IBB Solicitors will respond to the demands of a shifting wedding culture.
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