Anglo-Polish prenuptial and postnuptial agreements
For couples with connections to England and Wales and Poland, a nuptial agreement can provide valuable certainty before or during marriage. This may be particularly important where one or both parties has family wealth, business interests, property in Poland or England, international assets, expected inheritance, or children from a previous relationship.
English and Polish law approach nuptial agreements differently. In England and Wales, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements are not automatically binding in the same way as ordinary contracts, but the court will usually give significant weight to a properly prepared agreement if it is fair in the circumstances and if appropriate safeguards have been followed.
In Poland, the closest equivalent is a marital property agreement, commonly known as an intercyza, which is primarily concerned with the matrimonial property regime and must be completed in the required formal manner, usually before a notary.
For international couples, it is important to consider both systems from the outset. An agreement that works well in one country may not achieve the intended outcome in the other unless it is carefully structured and supported by appropriate advice.
We regularly advise on:
- Whether a nuptial agreement is suitable and what it should cover
- The English law requirements for an effective agreement
- How an English nuptial agreement interacts with a Polish marital property agreement
- Protecting inherited wealth, family businesses, farms, real estate and pre-marital assets
- The treatment of Polish assets within a wider English nuptial agreement
- Liaising with Polish notaries, tax advisers and succession specialists where required
- Reviewing existing Polish agreements in the context of English divorce and financial remedy proceedings.
Where appropriate, we work with Polish lawyers and tax advisers to ensure the advice is properly co-ordinated and that clients understand the practical effect of any agreement in both jurisdictions.
