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Disclosure in pre-nuptial agreements – full and frank, or fraudulent?
Charlotte Daintith
London has long been a popular city for French expats, and despite the reported drop post- Brexit, is still home to a reported 100,000 French nationals many of whom applied for settled status. There are 9 bilingual French schools in London and with the Eurotunnel celebrating 30 years of operation, London remains an attractive residence for French professionals.
But do French families living in, or moving to, London consider what impact that move may have on their marriage and for some, their divorce?
France vs England – which country will hear the divorce ?
Many people believe (wrongly) that a person must get divorced in the country in which they were married. This divorce “myth” is particularly relevant for French couples moving to England. In fact, jurisdiction to commence divorce proceedings is standardised within the EU states (other than Denmark). An EU state will have jurisdiction to hear divorce proceedings (irrespective of where the couple were married) based on habitual residence and/ or nationality.
A French couple, having moved to London, could easily find themselves in a situation where the courts in both England and France have jurisdiction to hear divorce proceedings. This often results in a “race” to issue proceedings first in time in one country (whilst the race to court is no longer a relevant consideration for the English court, it will still be important for the French court). There can be significant differences in the outcome of divorce proceedings between France and England, both financially and procedurally, and it may therefore be important to take steps quickly.
Applicable law – which law will apply?
The English court, unlike the French court, will only ever apply English law to a divorce being dealt with in England. It can come as a shock to French couples to discover that their French marriage contract (contrat de mariage) will not simply be enforced in England, with French law being applied, as it would be in a French divorce. However, the relevance of the contrat de mariage in English divorce proceedings has gradually changed in our caselaw over the last decade. The impact of the contrat will depend on all of the circumstances, in particular, the couples’ understanding of the document and its implications. For further discussion about the impact of the French marriage contract in an English divorce, please see my further blog.
If you have any questions about the topic of this blog, or you need advice about Anglo-French divorce, please contact Claire Wood or a member of our Anglo French family team.
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