Making a prenuptial agreement before you get married can take away some of the financial worry about what will happen to your assets and property if your marriage does not work out.

In this series of blogs, Susan Davies, head of family law at Ansons Solicitors in Lichfield and Cannock, Staffordshire, gives her top 12 tips for what to include in your prenuptial agreement:

Top tip no.3 – Protect your pension

Your pension pot can reflect your future security and your retirement plans. If you are marrying later in life, or for a second time, you may not be willing to risk losing a substantial portion of your pension through pension sharing in a divorce settlement.

You can include express provisions in your prenuptial agreement about how pensions are to be shared and whether your partner will be entitled to any lump sum payable from your pension, such as a death in service benefit, if you die before the pension starts paying out.

Prenuptial agreements are being increasingly recognised by the court as a good reflection of a couple’s intentions towards each other if they separate. You must both take independent legal advice, give full disclosure of your financial assets and neither of you must be under any duress before signing the agreement. The agreement must also be ‘fair’.

For further advice, please contact Susan Davies in the family law team, on 01543 267 190 or sdavies@ansonsllp.com. Ansons Solicitors has offices in Cannock and Lichfield, Staffordshire.