A prenuptial agreement is a form of contract. As with all contracts you are well advised to seek legal advice when drawing one up. A prenuptial agreement - sometimes known as a prenup - is where two people, who are intending to marry, decide how their assets will be split should they ever divorce.

While there is nothing to stop the couple making an agreement without any intervention from the legal profession, or even signing up to an online DIY prenup kit, this is most certainly inadvisable. The intention of a prenuptial is to protect any assets either party brings to the marriage and ensure that any assets accrued during the marriage are split fairly.

Unless a solicitor has ensured that the prenup agreement is legally water-tight, then it could cause all kinds of problems during a divorce, especially if it is a particularly bitter one. A solicitor will make sure that the prenup treats each party equally, so that it will be harder to contest it if the marriage falls apart and the couple divorce.

The fact that prenuptial agreements are not fully recognised in English law means that consulting a solicitor is even more important. Prenuptials cannot currently be enforced in England and Wales, nor in the rest of the UK. However, courts in England and Wales have been known to take them into account when considering divorce settlements. If your prenup was made using a solicitor, the courts are more likely to consider the decisions agreed in the agreement should it come to divorce. Conversely, should you both have done a DIY prenup, there is every chance the courts will ignore it.

An experienced prenuptial agreement solicitor will provide important advice if you are considering a prenup. This will include the information that no agreement should be written less than 21 days before the wedding. Less than this and you risk the Court thinking that one of the parties was pressured into signing the contract.

Regardless of who is involved, a divorce is usually a painful experience. If a prenuptial exists it might help prevent an argument over the division of the assets, which will only increase stress levels - those taken into the marriage by both husband and wife, and those accumulated during it. It is therefore vital that you consult experienced solicitors when drawing up a prenuptial agreement.