Reported case of MN v AN [2023] EWHC 613 (Fam)

Partners Simon Bruce and Sarah Jane Lenihan, assisted by trainee solicitor Laura Couves, and instructing Mike Horton KC and Sophie Hill of Coram Chambers successfully acted for the Husband in one of the most important cases on prenups since the landmark case of Radmacher.

The case deals with really important themes including autonomy within marriage, the zeitgeist of coercive control, the way in which marital agreements limit sharing and needs claims, and the really potent use of well-judged open offers.

It was found that there had not been undue pressure, there were no vitiating factors in the case that meant the PNA should be ignored and decided that the PNA be upheld. It reinforces the position that courts should take account of prenups provided that they produce fair outcomes and provided that they are not tainted by duress.

Simon Bruce says that this High Court case was a really serious challenge to the principles laid down by the Supreme Court in 2010. And that, predictably, fair prenups will be a shut-out on future claims. He explains that the recent High Court ruling “confirms the strength of prenups, particularly where specialist advice is taken at the time they are drafted”.

Read the full Judgment MN v AN [2023] EWHC 613 (Fam).