12:07am UK, Saturday January 08, 2011
American-style prenuptial agreements could become legally binding in England.
he independent Law Commission is looking into ways to reform the current system, and is due to publish its findings early next week.
Many experts are predicting an overhaul of current marriage and divorce laws which have been in force for centuries.
Judges have tended to disregard contracts signed before marriage.
But, last year, the German heiress Katrin Radmacher won a landmark case against her former husband Nicolas Granatino.
Ms Radmacher, who is worth around £100m, signed a prenuptial with her ex-husband in 1998 in which both sides said they would not claim against each other if they divorced.
The Supreme Court ordered the deal should be honoured.
Katrin Radmacher and Nicolas Granatino
Family lawyer Karen Moores told Sky News it inevitably sets a precedent.
She said: "What the Supreme Court said was, if two sensible adults have entered into an agreement, knowing the implications, without any undue duress or misrepresentation, the presumption will be that they will be held to it."
Hollywood stars like Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, and Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones have famously signed prenuptial agreements.
In reality, most couples would still be unaffected by any new legislation which, in any case, would need to be passed by Parliament.
Family lawyer Alan Kaufman told Sky News: "You're talking about people who, one or both, have got lots of money.
"They're trying to protect some assets, or they're trying to protect inheritances, or people who've been through marriage before.
"They've known what divorce has done before, and they want some sort of certainty."
For most people, wedding planning is a romantic venture. Signing an agreement about a possible marriage failure might not be top of the to-do list.
Newly-engaged Keesha from Cheshire said: "You marry someone because you love them and you don't think about all those complications really, because you're not planning to divorce them are you?"
But Kim, who got married three weeks ago, can understand the logic: "Why not? If someone's got a lot of money I can understand why they want to protect their finances."
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