Mr and Mrs Crossley’s litigation over Mrs Crossley’s claims to Mr Crossley’s £45 million fortune was short-circuited by the judge’s decision that neither of them had to comply in full with the usual court requirements concerning disclosure, because they had signed a pre-nuptial agreement before they married.

The critical clause of the agreement provided essentially that each party should walk away with what she or he had brought in, and that neither husband nor wife should apply to the court for financial provision.

Rachel Hepworth, Hawkins partner specialising in family law, comments:

“The facts of this case were very unusual.  The wife had been married three times before and both parties already had children.  The marriage lasted barely a year.  The wife had her own fortune of around £18 million and the pre nuptial agreement was freely negotiated between very experienced matrimonial lawyers on both sides".

“However what is interesting is the increasing readiness of the courts to give weight to an appropriate pre nuptial agreement". 

“Although this decision will not necessarily be followed in other cases where the facts are less stark, people are going to perceive that making such an agreement in an appropriate case can certainly be worthwhile".

“The other side of the coin is that no-one should sign a pre-nuptial agreement thinking the court will necessarily allow them to escape from it”.