Not a law firm; not legal advice
AgreeReady is a website that helps couples in England and Wales prepare their own pre-nuptial, post-nuptial and cohabitation agreements and pet-nups. It is run by Split Right Ltd, a limited company. Split Right Ltd is not a law firm, is not a solicitors' practice or a barristers' chambers, does not employ solicitors or barristers to advise you and does not give legal advice.
Nothing on this website, in the case file, in the agreements it produces, in the guidance pages, in the Definitions or in our emails is legal advice about your circumstances. The tools work from the figures and answers you enter and apply the same templates to everyone; they do not know your situation and cannot tell you what terms are fair, what you should agree to or how a court would treat your agreement if your relationship ended. Using AgreeReady does not make either of you a client of Split Right Ltd or of anyone connected with it and creates no solicitor-client, barrister-client or other professional relationship.
Every couple's circumstances are different. Before you sign, each of you should take independent legal advice from your own solicitor, barrister instructed directly or chartered legal executive. The courts look for that advice when deciding whether to hold a couple to their agreement and the certificates for your advisers are included with every agreement. Our Suggested lawyers page explains how to find an adviser and a mediator.
What AgreeReady does
- Drafts a pre-nuptial agreement, post-nuptial agreement, cohabitation agreement or pet-nup as a deed, in the structure the courts expect, from the figures and words you both enter, on your own device.
- Prepares the schedules of each party's assets, debts, pensions and income that record your disclosure to each other, and the certificates of independent legal advice for your advisers to sign.
- Explains the law on these agreements in general terms: what each agreement is, how far a court will hold you to it and what it cannot do.
What AgreeReady does not do
- It does not advise either of you on what terms to agree, whether the agreement is fair to you or what you are giving up.
- It does not review, check or approve the agreement you create. No lawyer reads it unless you take it to a lawyer yourselves.
- It does not act for you. It does not negotiate between you, witness your signatures, register or store your agreement or correspond with anyone on your behalf. You do all of those things yourselves.
- It does not guarantee that a court will uphold your agreement. In England and Wales no nuptial agreement is binding on the court, and the weight any agreement is given depends on how it was made, what it says and the circumstances when it is relied on.
Reserved legal activities and regulation
The Legal Services Act 2007 reserves certain activities to authorised lawyers: the conduct of litigation, rights of audience, reserved instrument activities, probate activities, notarial activities and the administration of oaths. Split Right Ltd does not carry on any of them. Preparing your own agreement with a tool, taking it to your own advisers and signing it yourselves is something every person is entitled to do.
Split Right Ltd is not authorised or regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Bar Standards Board, CILEx Regulation or any other legal regulator, is not a member of the Legal Ombudsman scheme and does not hold itself out as a provider of legal services. You will not have the protections that come with instructing a regulated lawyer, such as professional indemnity cover for advice, the regulator's complaints scheme or a compensation fund.
The founder
AgreeReady was designed by a practising family barrister and the site says so because it explains the standard the agreements are built to. It does not mean that a barrister advises you through this site. The founder practises from chambers, is regulated by the Bar Standards Board in that practice and does not give advice, accept instructions or act for anyone through AgreeReady. Because of the conflict of interest, the founder will not accept instructions that come to chambers through this website. Melanie Scotland, the co-founder, is not a lawyer.
Accuracy of the guidance and tools
The Agreements and the law page, the Definitions and the FAQ describe the law and practice of England and Wales in general terms. They were checked against the official sources and the reported cases (including Radmacher v Granatino [2010] UKSC 42 and the Law Commission's 2014 report on matrimonial property, needs and agreements) on the dates shown and we work to keep them current. The law changes and, despite our care, the content may contain errors or become out of date. Check anything you intend to rely on against the official source, for example legislation.gov.uk and BAILII, and with your own adviser.
The agreement is built from what you both enter. A wrong figure, a missed asset or a statement that is not true will produce a flawed agreement and may be a reason for a court to set it aside later. Check every page before you sign it.
Your part in this
- You both remain responsible for the agreement: for the facts and figures you enter, for checking every clause, for taking advice, for signing it properly as a deed in front of a witness and for keeping the signed original safe.
- You must each give the other honest and complete disclosure of your finances. The schedules exist to record it.
- If your circumstances change, review the agreement. An agreement that no longer reflects your lives is the one most likely to be set aside.
Liability
To the fullest extent the law allows, Split Right Ltd does not accept liability for loss arising from reliance on the general information on this site, from an agreement you have not checked or taken advice on, or from decisions you take about your relationship or finances. Our responsibility for the agreements you buy is set out in the Terms of use and sale, which also preserve your rights as a consumer. Nothing here excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be excluded.