PRE-NUPTIAL AGREEMENTS – THEY’RE ON THE WAY!

The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) is the unlikely group at the forefront of a lobbying campaign to have pre-nuptial agreements recognised under Irish law. The IFA has been a major proponent of the pre-nup since divorce was legalised in 1996 against the wishes of the majority of Irish farmers. They first began lobbying for changes in 2011 and recently renewed their efforts. 

If you consider the average Irish farm – it is clear why the issue is of concern. If a farmer’s marriage breaks down, divorce can mean division of land that has been in a family for generations. If the farm house is left to the mother in which to rear the children, the farmer can be forced to live far from his land and livestock. If the farm is split in half, this down-sizing renders it less viable as a business. 

Such is the fear of the implication of divorce that farmers are delaying the transfer of land to the younger generation, which has repercussions itself. However, it seems their campaign has been successful – Justice Minister Alan Shatter has agreed to consider the recognition of pre-nuptial agreements as part of legal reforms. 

A pre-nuptial agreement is a contract signed by a couple prior to marriage that outlines how finances and possessions are to be divided should the relationship break down. While some pre-nups can go as far as specifying how many home-cooked meals are expected on the table each week, the majority deal with property, business and financial assets. It specifies how these assets are to be divided in the event of a relationship breakdown. 

More and more Irish people are signing pre-nuptial agreements. While they are not legally binding in Ireland at the moment, they do carry weight in court. Judges are not obliged to enforce them but often use them as a persuasive guide when deciding on Judicial Separation and Divorce cases.

Many people are signing pre-nuptial agreements now in the hopes that Shatter’s review will mean that the agreement will soon become legally binding. In the meantime, it is likely that their pre-nuptial agreement will be taken into consideration by the judge as long as it meets certain requirements including that the agreement must be in writing and that both parties obtained independent legal advice prior to signing.

What’s the value of a pre-nup? Ask anyone who has gone through a messy divorce!