THE Singapore courts will consider prenuptial agreements but there will be no blanket rule that all such contracts will be given significant weight, the Court of Appeal has said in a landmark decision.

Prenuptial agreements are reached between husband and wife before marriage, concerning what would happen in the event of a divorce.

Singapore's highest court last week gave the definitive ruling on prenups, bringing to an end the uncertainty in legal circles over whether such agreements are recognised in Singapore.

Some lawyers are known to advise clients that the courts do not recognise such contracts, as they are contrary to public policy.

But the Court of Appeal has now made it clear that while a prenup itself cannot be enforced automatically, the courts will also not reject such agreements outright.

Rather, in the appropriate situation, the courts will take into account the terms of such agreements in arriving at its decision.

Compared to prenups on the division of matrimonial assets, the courts are less inclined to give weight to agreements touching on the issues of maintenance of the wife and children, as well as issues relating to the custody, care and control of children.

The rules and principles that should be applied by the courts in relation to prenups was set out in a 30-page written judgment. Judge of Appeal Andrew Phang delivered the decision of the three-judge appeal court.

The judgment set out the reasons why the appeal court had, in January last year, agreed with a lower court that the matrimonial assets of a foreign couple who divorced here will not be divided.

The above article was first published in The Straits Times.