Whenever I sit in on debates involving private client lawyers I get fresh insights into how miserable life can be if you are seriously wealthy. Recently, a group of senior private client lawyers gathered at the London Stock Exchange for a panel debate hosted by Legal Week.
A big chunk of the session, which was chaired by the leading family barrister Nicholas Francis QC, focused on divorce law. I knew about pre-nups. But I must confess I didn’t know that there was also something called a post-nuptial or post-marital agreement, which is like a pre-nup, but signed immediately after marriage. Apparently they are gaining ground in the UK. But it isn’t exactly very romantic to stop off at your legal advisers on the way back from the airport at the end of your honeymoon in order to safeguard yourself against the consequences of a messy divorce. Guess what? Anecdotal evidence suggests people who sign post-nups often end up getting divorced.
