01
Free call with a client relationship manager
A confidential, no-charge call with our team, not lawyers, to understand your situation and check this is the right fit.
Free
Protecting Your Future Together
Pre-nuptial and Cohabitation agreements
Whether you’re planning a wedding or moving in together, agreeing where you both stand financially is a practical decision, not a pessimistic one. One expert and impartial barrister can help you set that out clearly, together.
Pre-nuptial agreements at a glance
Agree where you stand financially, together, before you say, “I do.”
- Who is it for
- Couples who are planning to marry.
- How does the court treat it
- In England and Wales, a pre-nuptial agreement is not automatically binding, but given significant weight if entered into freely, with proper disclosure, and separate legal advice is taken by each of you before signing.
- What can it cover
- Existing assets of all kinds and those you expect to acquire or inherit in the future.
- What does it cost
£10,200 per couple, for assets up to £25m. There’s no cap on how much time our solicitors spend with you. For couples with assets over £25m, a bespoke fixed fee will be provided.
How pre-nups protect you both
Getting married, or moving in together, is an exciting decision. Agreeing how you’d divide things if that ever changed is a practical one. Done well, it reduces uncertainty for both of you, especially where there’s an existing business, inherited or gifted assets, children from a previous relationship, or a significant difference in wealth between you.
You’ll jointly instruct one of our solicitors to understand your finances and your aims, before being advised together by a specialist family law barrister, who then drafts your agreement. You work through this together, transparently, rather than negotiating from two separate legal camps.
One part of the process isn’t joint, and deliberately so. After your agreement is drafted you will each have a separate meeting with a solicitor outside our joint process. This enables you both to confirm you understand what you are about to sign, and is necessary to protect the agreement from later challenge.
Before any of this begins, you are each screened individually and confidentially for anything that might make the joint process unsuitable, any safety concerns, or if either of you feels under pressure to agree.
Cohabitation agreements at a glance
A practical agreement for couples who live together without marrying.
- Who is it for
- Couples living together or intending to do so.
- What can it cover
- A cohabitation agreement records how unmarried partners will manage property and finances while living together and if you separate.
- If you have children together
- A cohabitation agreement covers your own finances and property, not financial provision for your child. If you’re not married and have children together, you will have a separate legal claim for their financial provision which we cover in our Financial provision for children service.
- What does it cost
- £10,200 per couple. There’s no cap on how much time our solicitors spend with you. For couples with complex agreements who require KC input, a bespoke fixed fee will be provided.
What if I’m already married and don’t have any kind of agreement?
If you’re already married, or separating but not divorced, and want to agree where you both stand, we can help you explore a post-nuptial or separation agreement.
Please feel free to book a 15-min, free call with one of our non-lawyer client relationship managers, and we can talk you through what’s involved.
What happens next?
02
Introductory Session
You each spend 45 mins individually with one of our solicitors, exploring your situation and the legal process. A fixed fee quote is then shared with you both.
£200 total, deducted from your fixed fee if you proceed
03
Getting Started Session
Your shared solicitor supports you both to exchange details of your finances, so everything is fully and transparently on the table.
In your fixed fee
04
Advice Session
You meet your barrister together, who analyses your disclosure and advises you both as to the relevant law and how your aims can be met.
In your fixed fee
05
Your agreement is drafted
Your barrister drafts your pre-nuptial or cohabitation agreement, reflecting your aims.
In your fixed fee
06
Final review
You each have a separate meeting with a solicitor outside our process to confirm you understand what you are about to sign and that it achieves your aims.
Fee paid outside our process
Frequently Asked Questions
Are pre-nuptial agreements legally binding in England and Wales?
Not automatically, but courts give them significant weight when they're freely entered into, with proper disclosure, and each person has taken separate legal advice before signing. Good process matters as much as the drafting itself.
Can we use the same lawyer for our pre-nup or cohabitation agreement?
Yes. You can work with one solicitor and barrister who advises you both and drafts the agreement. We advise all couples to have an individual meeting with a separate solicitor at the end of our process before signing the agreement.
Why do we each need separate legal advice if we're doing this together?
Working together keeps the process transparent rather than adversarial, but as the law currently stands, separate advice before signing is what protects the agreement from being challenged later. It's the one part of the process you don't do jointly, for good reason.
What's the difference between a pre-nup and a cohabitation agreement?
A pre-nup addresses finances if a future marriage ends. A cohabitation agreement addresses property and finances while an unmarried couple lives together and if they separate. The legal rules differ, so one is not simply a substitute for the other.
Does living together give us common-law marriage rights?
No. In England and Wales there is no such thing as common law marriage, although it is a commonly held misconception. Living together of itself gives you no legal rights to each other’s financial resources, although you may have property claims if you own assets together and you can make financial claims on behalf of your children.
Take one clear next step
You don't need to have every detail worked out today. Choose whichever conversation feels right for where you and your partner are now.