Graeme Elvin Mackenzie Elvin

Following on from my comments about marriage (albeit gay marriage), I was talking with my better half, family law specialist and Mackenzie Elvin partner, Fiona Mackenzie the other day after an interesting discussion with some clients.

The clients were a couple who were about to enter into a new relationship. There were children coming into the relationship from each side and, who knows, they might be devils for punishment and have a few more together.

Both of these clients were good people, who had worked hard and had some assets, but one had ended up with a bit more than the other.

I suggested that they might like to enter into a Contracting Out Agreement to protect their positions, and each other, and to protect the children on each side.

A Contracting Out Agreement is sort of the modern version of a pre-nup. Well, my suggestion didn't go down too well, in fact, you would have thought hell had frozen over and my clients clearly thought that I was making the suggestion in order to mine some fees.

We had quite a robust discussion about the pros and cons and in the end I said, nicely, 'Look, I am not suggesting a Contracting Out Agreement in order to make money out of you. When people don't have any agreement in place the lawyers end up making far more money if the relationship ever breaks down, or if one of the couple dies and there is a fight about property, so please yourselves.”

I think this straight talking got the message home. Yes, Contracting Out Agreements can be quite expensive to get right, but let me tell you, they are nowhere near as expensive as the consequences if you get it wrong or if you don't do it at all.

What is also important is to get the right person to do the job. There are plenty of commercial and property lawyers out there at the moment with not enough work to do, turning their hand to this sort of work. My advice: get an expert.