Senior judges rewrote the divorce laws yesterday to give resounding backing to prenuptial contracts and bring England into line with the rest of Europe. One of Germany’s richest women secured victory in the Court of Appeal in enforcing a prenuptial agreement with her former husband.
The judges said that England should not be out of step with other countries, condemning existing law — under which prenuptial contracts are not enforceable — as “patronising” and outdated.
They upheld a challenge brought by Katrin Radmacher, 39, an heiress said to be worth £100 million, ruling that a prenuptial contract should be decisive when the courts divide a couple’s assets after a marriage fails.
Until now, judges have regarded prenuptial agreements as “persuasive” but in future, courts will