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Marital agreements for international families after Radmacher
The Supreme Court decision in Radmacher on 20 October 2010 was always going to have significant impact in the international family community. And so it has proven. It makes marital agreements and pre-marital agreements as close to being binding as possible – provided they are fair!
The decision brings England and Wales much closer to the law and practice of many other countries. It gives much greater confidence to foreign lawyers and their clients that a foreign marital (including premarital) agreement, especially after independent advice, will be upheld on an English divorce. England will look more at foreign law to determine the effect the parties intended when entering into a foreign agreement. England will still only apply local law, English law, not applicable law, but this is what occurs in many other countries with which England is close, even if not the preference of the Euro bureaucrats. Of course it does not make marital agreements binding in law – only Parliament can do so and probably will in the next four years following Law Commission proposals expected early 2011. But this is as close to binding as judge made law could provide. This decision is good for the international family lawyers community and good for international families
This article by David Hodson is for international families and non English lawyers either contemplating a marital agreement with a potential English element or facing a possible English divorce and considering how the English courts will now look at a foreign marital agreement. It has been published on the Jordans online site
Download the file 
Radmacher.pdf ()
Posted on 21 October, 2010 by David Hodson
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