Everyone enters into marriage hoping it will be a long and successful one.

No doubt the last conversation you want to have with your intended when joyfully planning your forthcoming nuptials is how you will divide your assets if your divorce.

But the sad fact, however, is that more than 40 per cent of marriages in the UK end in divorce.

The breakdown of a marriage can be a very traumatic time emotionally but the financial consequences can also be devastating.

As soon as you marry, your business becomes a matrimonial asset.

Ideally, if the unthinkable happens and your marital bliss comes to an end, you will reach an amicable agreement with your spouse about how your assets should be divided and your business will survive unscathed.

Unfortunately, however, this isn’t always the case and many divorcing couples find themselves embroiled in lengthy and complex court proceedings.

If you find yourself in this position the court could potentially make an order that substantially affects your business or even order you to sell your business. Many businesses have become insolvent when a sole owner or major shareholder has undergone a particularly tough divorce.

It is likely that you have invested a lot of time and money building up your business.

It may even be a family business built up over generations. Imagine facing the prospect of that business being destroyed.

If you’re a sole trader this would almost certainly be a huge blow for you during what is already a difficult time. If you have business partners or employees, however, the result could be far reaching and extend to those involved in your business and their families.

It is therefore vital that you do your upmost not only to protect yourself but also to protect others involved in your business. A professionally prepared prenuptial agreement can offer business owners that protection by allowing them to separate their business assets from their personal assets and preserve the assets they have built up prior to the marriage.

The usefulness of prenuptial agreements doesn't only extend to business owners.

A general prenuptial agreement can simply set out how the assets will be divided if you separate and therefore simplifies the process if the unfortunate event occurs. The prenuptial agreement can protect any pre-existing assets or preserve assets for any children you may have from a previous relationship.

If this is the case you may wonder why prenuptial agreements seem to be relatively rare in the UK.

The reason is that at the moment prenuptial agreements are only recognised at discretion of the courts and, although there has been an increasing trend in such agreements being upheld by the courts, they are not legally binding. This has deterred many otherwise astute business people from entering into a prenuptial agreement.

Thankfully, a change in the law is now on the horizon in the form of a recently published Law Commissions report which proposes that prenuptial agreements should be binding in English Law.

If the Government is willing to adopt these proposals, the agreement will need to be a ‘qualifying’ agreement which means that certain safeguarding procedures must be followed.

Firstly the agreement must be signed at least 28 days before the wedding so a last minute scribble on the way down the aisle won’t count! Also there must be no pressure exerted by either partner on the other and you must both give full disclosure of your financial circumstances. Finally, you must both receive independent legal advice.

Other safeguards are likely to be set out in the proposed legislation to ensure undue hardship is not caused to either party and to protect the needs of future children of the marriage.

Be careful that your lawyer knows about any change in your circumstances after the wedding as if this is not covered in the agreement you will need to have the change reflected in an amended agreement - eg if your business becomes a limited company or is floated on the stock market.

Entering into a prenuptial agreement can mean the difference between a quick resolution of financial matters if the relationship breaks down or lengthy, stressful and expensive court proceedings.

A commercially minded family solicitor will be able to offer you specialist advice in this area and prepare your qualifying prenuptial agreement for you.