Prenup 'adultery clauses' on the rise
Pre-nuptial agreements are on the rise in the UK - and brides and grooms are increasingly insisting on an infidelity clause.
Perhaps because of high-profile examples such as Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas, plus the rising divorce rate, more and more couples are defining exactly what's acceptable in the marriage - and what penalties there might be.
And in a new book, Marriage Rites and Rights, top divorce lawyer Ayesha Vardag and Cambridge University law lecturer Joanna Miles reveal that there's an increasing trend to include non-financial clauses. These, they say, can relate to everything from housework to the amount of sex: "adultery clauses being at the fore of these."
The trend may be fuelled by the fact that divorce courts no longer take adultery into account when splitting assets - something that many wronged parties see as unfair.
Prenups have been legally recognised since 2010, following a landmark decision by the UK Supreme Court which upheld a prenup signed by German heiress Katrin Radmacher (a client of Ms Vardag) to protect her assets.
However, there are still constraints, as the agreements can't be used 'to impose hardship on either party, nor to escape responsibility for children or to burden the state'.
While the court, therefore, will tend to adopt the terms of a prenup, it still has authority and will still determine the division of assets.
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Lawyers recommend prenups as a way of simplifying the division of assets in the event of a divorce - and claim they can make the process far cheaper and less acrimonious.
However, senior judge Baroness Hale of Richmond has expressed concern, saying they are designed 'almost always to give someone less than they would be otherwise entitled to'.
In the UK, most of those signing prenups are the super-wealthy, as you might expect. But they are also on the rise amongst people entering on a second marriage, as well as many childless young professionals.
In the US, provisions have included a maximum weight that the wife was allowed to reach, and the number of times one spouse was expected to provide home-cooked meals. However, such clauses in a prenup haven't yet been upheld by a UK court - and nor has an adultery clause.
Read more on AOL Money:
Divorce costs to soar after court fees review
10 of the strangest pre-nup clauses
Cohabiting couples: what are your rights?
