Case No. RS20D03594

20.The case was listed for a First Directions Appointment before me on 29 July 2021. In the run up to that hearing, the Wife applied pursuant to Part 25 of the Family Procedure Rules for the valuation of various assets, including the shares in DEF Inc and the business founded in 2016. On the day, the Husband agreed to these valuations. The parties had already been able to agree the value of seven other assets, namely six properties and the plane. I made various directions as to valuation evidence; actual and latent tax liabilities; and in relation to the Pre-Nuptial Agreement. In relation to the latter, if the Husband wished to rely on the Agreement, he was to serve a witness statement by 21 October 2021, restricted to addressing the circumstances under which it was signed; any legal advice taken; and what effect it should have on the outcome of the financial remedy application. I made provision for the Wife to respond. I specifically directed that, if the parties were so advised, they could apply to me for permission to rely on the evidence of a Single Joint Expert as to the effect of the (draft) Agreement under the applicable law. 21.The Husband filed his statement as to the Pre-Nuptial Agreement on 22 October 2021. He gave his address as being the Z Street Property, although it is abundantly clear that neither party has stayed at that address for any length of time to date. In his statement, he said that he was not asking for an order in the terms of the Pre-Nuptial Agreement. He said, however, that the document was considered in great detail by the Wife. He asserted that it goes into elaborate detail. He said it was signed at the solicitors’ offices not at home, as it had to be witnessed. He added that there was financial disclosure and that it was strongly recommended that the Wife take legal advice but she refused. He then dealt with his case as to the effect of the agreement at the time in Country X. I have subsequently directed that this section of the statement be redacted on the basis that it should have been dealt with by expert evidence from a single joint expert. I do, however, consider it fair to note that the Husband was not saying that, at the time, this Agreement would have been considered binding by the court in Country X. In his conclusion, he said that he does not seek an order to implement the Agreement but that any outcome must respect the spirit of the Agreement and reflect the dynastic and separate character of the business assets brought into the marriage, he would say, as non-matrimonial property. 22.The Wife’s statement in reply is dated 3 December 2021. She asked, rhetorically, whether the Husband was arguing that she should get less than would otherwise be the case as a result of the Pre-Nuptial Agreement as she said this was unclear. She made it clear that her case was that it should have no effect at all. She added that her recollection is very different to that of the Husband. She said that the Husband had clearly told her that it was being raised only at his father’s insistence, adding that he seemed embarrassed. She said they had never discussed it before the evening during which he raised it. She was told it would only last three years or until they had a child. She made the point that there is no mention on the bill submitted by Mr B of a charge for a signing meeting. Finally, she reminded the court that there were no figures in the draft for the value of ABC Inc.