Prenups before a second marriage, country by country

The first time most people marry, there isn't much to protect. Second time round is different. You may bring a home you kept or bought after the divorce, a pension that has already been divided once, savings you rebuilt, a business, and children whose inheritance matters to you. A prenup, or prenuptial agreement, is a written agreement made before the wedding about what happens to money and property if the marriage ends. For many people who have been through a hard divorce, having that settled while you get on well is a relief rather than a sign of mistrust.

What a prenup can and can't do

A prenup usually sets out:

• which assets stay separate, such as a home owned before the marriage, an inheritance or a business;
• how money and property built up during the marriage will be shared;
• what happens to the home you live in together;
• how debts are dealt with;
• in some places, whether either of you will pay the other support.

What it can't reliably do is take away what children need. Courts everywhere covered here keep the power to make sure children are provided for, and many US states say so in their statute. A prenup also isn't a will: it deals with divorce, not death, so you'll want both.

The seven places side by side

England and Wales

A prenup is not automatically binding in England and Wales; the court still decides the finances on divorce. But in Radmacher v Granatino, decided on 20 October 2010, the Supreme Court said a court should give effect to a nuptial agreement that each person entered freely, with a full appreciation of its implications, unless in the circumstances it would not be fair to hold them to it. In practice a well-made prenup can be decisive, and a rushed one may carry little weight. It is unlikely to be allowed to leave either of you, or your children, without your needs met.

Change may be coming. The Ministry of Justice's "A fairer end to relationships" consultation, which ran from 5 June to 14 August 2026, included proposals for "qualifying nuptial agreements" that would let couples make binding financial arrangements. At the time of writing they are proposals, not law.

One more thing that catches people out: in England and Wales, getting married cancels any will you made before, unless it was made with that marriage in mind.

Scotland

Scotland has long treated agreements between spouses as contracts. Under section 16 of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985, a court can set aside or vary an agreement on financial provision only if it was not fair and reasonable at the time it was entered into. That puts the weight on how the agreement was made: honest disclosure, no pressure, and time to take advice.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has its own law on money after divorce. Under article 27 of the Matrimonial Causes (Northern Ireland) Order 1978, the court must have regard to all the circumstances of the case, giving first consideration to the welfare of any child of the family under 18. A prenup can be one of those circumstances, but no statute makes it binding. Ask a solicitor in Northern Ireland how much weight one is likely to carry.

Ireland

Ireland has no law that makes a prenup binding. On divorce, section 20 of the Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 requires the court to make sure proper provision exists for both spouses and any dependent children, and to have regard to any separation agreement still in force. A prenup may still be useful evidence of what you both intended, but it cannot override that duty.

Marriage also revokes a will in Ireland, unless the will was made in contemplation of that marriage (section 85 of the Succession Act 1965).

The United States

Each state sets its own rules, and many have adopted a version of the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, a model law. North Carolina's version is typical:

• the agreement must be in writing and signed by both people, and takes effect on marriage;
• a child's right to support may not be adversely affected by it;
• it won't be enforced if the person challenging it didn't sign voluntarily, or if it was unconscionable when signed and they weren't given fair disclosure of the other's property and debts.

Some states add their own requirements, such as how long before the wedding it must be signed. A family lawyer in your state will know the details.

Canada

Marriage contracts are a matter for each province. In Ontario, the Family Law Act requires a domestic contract to be in writing, signed by both people and witnessed; it cannot take away a spouse's right to live in the matrimonial home; and a court can set it aside if someone failed to disclose significant assets or debts or did not understand what they were signing. In Quebec, a marriage contract must be made before a notary, and spouses cannot give up their share of the family patrimony in advance.

Australia

Australia goes furthest. Couples can make a financial agreement before, during or at the end of a relationship, and agreements made before a wedding are often called prenups. According to Legal Aid Queensland, it is binding only if each person gets independent legal advice about how it affects their rights, each lawyer signs a document confirming that advice, and both people sign the agreement. It can be set aside in limited cases, including fraud, unconscionable conduct, or a major change in the care of children that makes it unfair.

Raising the subject

The conversation is often harder than the document. Some things that help:

• Raise it early, long before the venue is booked.
• Lead with the reasons. "I want to make sure my children are looked after" is easier to hear than "I need you to sign this."
• Make it mutual. You may both have things to protect, and you may both have children.
• Suggest separate lawyers. It protects both of you and, in Australia, it's required.
• Give it time. Agreements signed in a rush, close to the wedding, are the easiest to challenge.

If the conversation shows you have very different expectations about money, that is worth knowing now. Our guide to dating someone who is divorced covers money conversations from the other side.

Before you remarry: a checklist

1. Is the financial settlement from your last divorce finished and formalised?
2. Will remarrying end any support you receive from your ex? In many places it does.
3. Have you made a new will, and checked pension and life insurance nominations?
4. Have you talked openly about homes, money and children, including stepchildren?
5. Have you each taken independent legal advice on a prenup, in the country where you'll live?

If you're moving in first, read moving in with a new partner after divorce. Our guides to blended families and dating after divorce over 50 cover more of what changes when you build a new family later in life.