Radmacher brings prenups to the UK

"Well...I put a lot of thought into this and I think I would like you to sign a prenuptial agreement". With this line George Costanza tentatively proposes to his fiancée, Susan, that she should sign a prenupIn this famous, Seinfeldian line George Costanza tries to persuade Susan, his fiancee, to sign a prenup. George thinks that Susan will be so hurt by his demand that she will break up with him, so he can get out of their engagement without looking responsible.

George Costanza is not known for effectively carrying out plans, however, and his plan fails. Susan has so much more income than him that she has no issue with signing a prenuptial agreement.

The status of prenups in Britain has been shifting, however. Research conducted for the solicitors in London law firm Mishcon de Reya revealed that men under the age of 45 who bring in more than £100,000 a year are 3 times more likely to have a prenup than those over forty five. Roughly one in 5 men under 45 has a prenuptial agreement of some kind.

This is all well and good, but technically in Britain today prenuptial agreements have practically no legal power. Judges routinely disregard prenuptial contracts, and for this reason many lawyers in London have described the city as the divorce capital of the earth.

The standing of prenups changed dramatically on Wednesday, however. The Guardian reports today that Katrin Radmacher, a German heiress, successfully got the supreme court to uphold a prenuptial agreement she made with her ex-husband to protect her inheritance. Granatino claimed against his former wife after signing a prenuptial agreement that stated neither party could walk away from the marriage with non-communal property. He contended the contract was not valid in a number of separate ways.

Mr Granatino initially won £5.85m in a high court . But during an appeal the amount was slashed straight down to about £1m. Eventually appeals took it all the way to the Supreme Court. The everyone involved predicted the decision a while ago, but it was delayed due to strong dissimilarities of opinion between the justices.

Ms Radmacher hired Richard Todd, a well known family law lawyer in London, to stand for her. Based on his victory against a team of lawyers that have represented members of the royal family, John Cleese, and Paul McCartney it was a good choice.

Until the law is formally changed the court's verdict will set a new precedent on the status of prenuptial agreements in the UK. Now, as Ajmal Azam at the Guardian writes, "unless one party to the prenuptial has suffered from a material lack of disclosure, information or advice, or unless the agreement fails to make adequate provision for dependent children, the courts will enforce the terms".

While a few have argued that the Supreme Court stepped beyond its purpose as a pure interpreter of the law, the fact that the UK is at long last stepping on board with Europe and the US in terms of prenuptial agreements is a step in the right direction. Men and women alike would benefit significantly from the ability to establish guidelines on how non-communal property will be distributed in the event of a divorce.