Title: Violence in Spanish divorce and prenuptial agreements

Authors: Celia Martinez-Escribano

Addresses: Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Juridicas y de la Comunicacion, Universidad de Valladolid, Trinidad, 3 40001 Segovia, Spain

Abstract: Prenuptial agreements appeared in the USA, where they are very popular. These agreements are considered effective in protecting the spouse|s assets from the financial consequences of divorce. In recent years, some European countries like Spain have started to introduce prenuptial agreements due to the social and legal changes caused by divorce. Prenuptial agreements can reduce and eliminate the possibility of litigation over properties. Furthermore, pre-nuptial agreements may have other benefits such as the reduction of conflicts and domestic violence, which is one of the stigmas in Spanish family law. A properly crafted pre-nuptial agreement can contain clauses limiting or removing the financial claims of the other party in cases of domestic violence. These agreements set out clearly what will happen on the breakdown of any marriage. The purpose of this paper is to explore new fields for prenuptial agreements.

Keywords: prenuptial agreements; domestic violence; divorce; financial consequences; Spain; USA; United States; husbands; wives; spouses; personal assets; social change; legal changes; litigation; property law; family conflicts; families; family law; contractual clauses; financial claims; marriage breakdown; liability; scientific enquiry.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLSE.2011.041985

International Journal of Liability and Scientific Enquiry, 2011 Vol.4 No.2, pp.170 - 183

Published online: 29 Nov 2014 *

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