7th April 2010

Divorce solicitors in London, Brighton and across the UK are awaiting the ruling of Supreme Court Judges regarding a prenuptial agreement which was not adhered to in the divorce court but was upheld, to a degree, by the court of appeal.

Nicholas Granatino, a French-born banker turned academic researcher, married wealthy paper industry heiress Katrin Radmacher in 1998 after a 12-month romance.

The son of a French millionaire, Granatino was earning around £320,000 at the time, and signed a prenuptial agreement in Germany declaring that, should the marriage end in divorce, he did not want any of his wife's wealth.

In 2003 he became a biotechnology researcher at Oxford University, accepting a salary of around £30,000.

When the couple were divorced in 2008 the High Court awarded Mr Granatino £4.73 million and £35,000 a year in maintenance for when the couple's two children stay with him.

However, Miss Radmacher challenged the ruling and the Court of Appeal agreed that the UK was out of step with Europe on its non-adherence to the contents of prenups. They consequently reduced Mr Granatino's payment to £1 million.

He now says Miss Radmacher's family's assets were not apparent at the time the prenuptial agreement was drawn up and that he did not have full legal advice before he signed.

The Supreme Court is now considering the case. Its ruling is likely to make a useful clarification as to the validity of prenuptial agreements for separating spouses, and for divorce solicitors and family law court judges in England and Wales.