Parental influence moves from property leg-up to prenup
30 September 20166
This year, the Bank of Mum and Dad is apparently helping out in a quarter of UK mortgages. A study by Legal and General (reported here) suggested parents will be lending £5 billion in 2016 to help their children with a deposit on a first property.
There is a knock on effect to this, which was reported in the Daily Mail this month. Parents who have invested in their children's homes are driving growth in prenuptial agreements as they seek to protect their investment in the event of divorce.
The result is that where previously prenups were seen as the preserve of people with considerable wealth, we are now seeing a much wider spectrum of interest.
I have looked at this phenomenon and how best to ring fence 'non-matrimonial' assets in an earlier article. It is important to note that because prenuptial agreements remain legally unenforceable in England Wales, it is not possible to make a binding agreement which cannot be interfered with by the court in the unhappy event of a divorce. However, ways to ensure the best chance of a prenup or postnup being upheld are also discussed in the article.
Maeve O'Higgins Family Law Partner, Burlingtons Legal |
Email: maeve.ohiggins@burlingtonslegal.com, Tel: +44 (0) 207 529 5420
This blog is intended for general information only and should not be considered as giving advice in relation to any individual case nor be taken as applying to any particular case. No liability is accepted for any such use of the information contained.