Wondering what to include in a prenup? A strong prenuptial agreement is clear, fair and built on honesty. It records what each of you brings in, how you want your assets treated, and how you would provide for each other if the marriage ended — leaving as little as possible to argue about later. Below is what most couples in England & Wales should think about including, section by section, plus the things a prenup cannot do. For a plain-English tour of the individual prenup clauses, and how to keep the terms fair so they hold up, follow the links throughout.
1. Property and the family home
Set out any property each partner already owns and how it should be treated — kept separate, shared, or shared only to the extent it grows in value. The family home usually needs special thought, because it is both an asset and the place where a partner — or children — may need to live. If you are buying together with unequal deposits, record who contributed what and how that should be recognised. See also protecting a property with a prenup.
2. Savings, investments and pensions
List significant savings and investments, and don't overlook pensions, which are frequently among the most valuable assets a couple has and the most commonly forgotten. Recording a pension's cash-equivalent transfer value (CETV) makes disclosure meaningful, and a prenup can set out how a pension built up before the marriage should be treated. See protecting a pension with a prenup and protecting savings.
3. Business interests
If either partner owns or part-owns a business, a prenup can help keep that business separate so it is protected from disruption if the marriage ends — and protect co-owners and investors too. It can also set out how any growth in the business during the marriage is treated. See prenups for business owners and protecting a family business.
4. Debts
Be clear about debts each partner brings in — mortgages, loans, credit cards, business borrowing — and who remains responsible for them. Ring-fencing pre-marital debt stops one partner being drawn into liabilities that were never theirs (see pre-marriage debts and prenups).
5. Inheritances and family gifts
Money or property received from family is often something couples most want to ring-fence. A prenup can record that inheritances and gifts — past or future — stay with the partner who received them, which is especially important in a second marriage or where you want to protect assets for children.
6. How assets built up during the marriage are shared
One of the most important choices is how to treat wealth created during the marriage — the "matrimonial" property that the law generally expects to be shared. You can agree to share it equally, share it in defined proportions, or keep certain categories separate. Understanding the difference between matrimonial and non-matrimonial property helps you draw the line in a way a court will respect.
7. Spousal maintenance and what happens on death
Set out any approach to spousal maintenance — ongoing support after divorce — within the limits the court allows, and consider what should happen on death, because a prenup works alongside (not instead of) your will. Making a prenup is a good prompt to review or make a will at the same time.
8. A review clause
Sensible agreements include a review clause — a commitment to revisit the terms at set points or on big life events, such as having children or buying a home together. It keeps the agreement current and fair, which in turn helps it stand up years later. A related option is a sunset clause, under which the agreement falls away after a number of years.
The foundation: full and frank disclosure
None of this works without full and frank financial disclosure. Each partner should set out their finances honestly in a disclosure schedule attached to the agreement — every significant asset, income source and debt (here is how to value your assets and the information you'll need). Hiding assets is one of the surest ways to have a prenup set aside later, so full disclosure protects the agreement as much as it protects your partner.
What a prenup cannot do
Some things are simply outside what a prenup can decide in England & Wales:
- It cannot pre-determine arrangements or maintenance for children — their welfare is always for the court.
- It cannot leave a partner in real financial need while the other keeps everything.
- Lifestyle clauses — rules about behaviour, chores or weight — carry no legal weight.
See are prenups legally binding? for how these limits work in practice.
What to include in a prenup: quick checklist
- Property each partner owns, and the family home
- Savings, investments and pensions
- Business interests, and how their growth is treated
- Debts each partner brings in
- Inheritances and family gifts (past and future)
- How assets built up during the marriage are treated
- Spousal maintenance, and what happens on death
- A full financial disclosure schedule
- A review clause to keep it current
For a printable version, see our prenup checklist.
Why these headings, and what the law says about each
The list above is not a matter of taste; each heading corresponds to something the court will have to decide if the marriage ends, and a prenup is most useful where it answers those questions in advance. Property comes first because the family home is the asset the courts treat most cautiously. It is normally regarded as matrimonial property even where one partner owned it before the wedding, and section 30 of the Family Law Act 1996 gives a non-owning spouse home rights in it from the day of the marriage, so a clause protecting a deposit or pre-marital equity, while housing the family fairly, is realistic where a clause claiming the whole house is not.
Pensions are shareable by court order under section 24B of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and are often a couple's largest asset, which is why the schedule should record each pension's cash equivalent value. Business interests, savings and inheritances all turn on the distinction the Supreme Court settled in Standish v Standish: the sharing principle applies to matrimonial property, the wealth generated during the marriage, and not to non-matrimonial property such as what each of you brought in, inherited or was given, unless over time you have been treating it as shared. Recording those assets, and stating that they are to stay separate, is how a prenup makes that distinction stick. Debts belong on the list because section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 directs the court to consider each party's financial needs, obligations and responsibilities, and liabilities are obligations.
Maintenance is the heading with the firmest limit. Section 34 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 makes void any term that tries to stop either spouse applying to the court for financial provision, so a prenup cannot exclude maintenance outright; what it can do is record an agreed level or term, which the court will usually respect if it leaves the lower earner's reasonable needs met, and section 25A already directs the court to consider a clean break where one is just and reasonable. Death needs its own line because section 18 of the Wills Act 1837 revokes an existing will on marriage, and because under section 1 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 a surviving spouse can claim reasonable financial provision from an estate whatever a will says; a prenup and matching wills made together are the answer to both.
The review clause, finally, exists because of the words "in the circumstances prevailing" in the Radmacher v Granatino test. Fairness is judged at the divorce, not the wedding, and an agreement that has been refreshed after the birth of a child or a large change in finances is far harder to call unfair than one signed a decade earlier and never revisited.
What to include in a prenup: FAQs
What should always be in a prenup?
Full financial disclosure from both partners, clear terms on separate and joint property, and fair provision for both of you are the essentials.
What can’t you put in a prenup?
You cannot fix child maintenance or arrangements, and unenforceable lifestyle clauses carry no weight.
Should a prenup include future assets?
It can, and often should — see should a prenup cover future assets?
How detailed should a prenup be?
Detailed enough to be clear and to reflect full disclosure, but not so rigid that it becomes unfair as life changes (see how detailed should a prenup be?).
Can a prenup cover pets?
It can record who keeps a pet, though a court treats pets as property rather than children (see pets in a prenup).
Create your prenuptial agreement online
UK Prenup lets couples in England & Wales create a clear, fair prenuptial agreement online from £199, with your document generated instantly as a PDF. See how it works or get started.
UK Prenup is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. A prenuptial agreement in England & Wales is not automatically binding, and both partners should take independent legal advice before signing.