The average cost for a UK wedding is £15,000. The average divorce in the UK costs £13,000. With 157,000 marriages ending in divorce in the UK, the total amount spent by divorcees comes to more than £2billion per annum. These are frightening statistics. The stakes on divorce could never be higher, and there is a real possibility that a professional footballer could lose up to half of his assets on divorce - you only need to ask Ray Parlour his thoughts given his recent well publicised divorce which was spread across the tabloids.
There are, however, a number of options that a young footballer might want to consider, namely:
1. Do not get married - An unromantic proposition, but if you want to preserve your wealth this is sound advice. The claims of a cohabitee upon the breakdown of a relationship are modest when compared to those of a former spouse.
2. Live (and divorce) abroad - The courts in England and Wales are being very generous to wives upon divorce, more so than some of their international counterparts.
3. Regulate marital life very carefully - For example, encourage your partner to continue working following marriage as opposed to giving up any career. Furthermore, whatever the temptations, try to avoid an extravagant lifestyle as you merely set the standards when it comes to divorce. If you receive inherited wealth, then keep it separate and apart from the marital pot. Take careful advice from an accountant, you may also want to consider making use of discretionary trusts to keep wealth at a distance.
4. Insist upon a pre-nuptial agreement prior to marriage. Whilst there can be no guarantee that the terms of any pre-nuptial contract will be upheld on divorce, the English courts are moving closer and closer towards full endorsement of them. It is in respect of the pre-nuptial agreement that I particularly urge young footballers to pay particular attention. Whilst a pre-nuptial agreement is not legally binding in its own right in this country, it is being given increasing weight by the courts.
