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Thursday, February 18, 2021
Saturday, December 12, 2020
Prenuptial Agreements in Hong Kong
Jeremy D. Morley
Prenuptial agreements for international people based in Hong Kong may be tremendously useful but must be carefully drafted by counsel with international experience and knowledge, says international family lawyer Jeremy D. Morley. The same applies to post-nuptial agreements in Hong Kong.

It should be noted that nuptial agreements between the parties are not included in the list of factors that the Matrimonial Proceedings and Property Ordinance directs a court in Hong Kong to consider in determining the financial consequences of a divorce.
Moreover, the potential and practical effect of both prenuptial and postnuptial agreements under Hong Kong law is quite uncertain, since they are to be considered under the subjective and ambiguous standard of “fairness.”
Nuptial agreements were previously considered at common law to be contrary to public policy because they ousted the jurisdiction of the court to grant ancillary relief. The modern English law on nuptial agreements dates from the 2008 ruling of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in MacLeod v. MacLeod, [2008] UKPC 64. In that case, the Court decided in favor of the husband (my client) that a post nuptial agreement was valid, binding and could be enforced, but it insisted that courts retained the power to modify such agreements whenever necessary or appropriate to protect the weaker spouse.
In 2011, in the landmark case of Radmacher v. Granatino, [2010] UKSC 42, [2011] 1 A.C. 534, the U.K. Supreme Court extended the MacLeod ruling to prenuptial agreements. Again, it ruled that nuptial agreements could be enforced, but only subject to the overriding standard of “fairness.” A prenuptial agreement might have “decisive weight” but it must always be reviewed on a case-by-case basis for fairness.
In 2014, the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal ruled that the Radmacher ruling now represented the law in Hong Kong and stated that this applied to postnuptial, as well as prenuptial agreements. The case concerned the impact in Hong Kong of a German prenuptial agreement between German nationals. The Hong Kong court held that the existence of the German prenuptial agreement and also a German separation agreement was plainly a factor to consider on the husband's application to stay the Hong Kong divorce proceedings on the ground of forum non conveniens. SPH v. SA [2014] HKCFA 56.
But how the rule of “fairness” would be applied was not explained.
Indeed, the fairness standard makes it almost impossible to predict the impact that a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement will have on a future divorce case in Hong Kong.
Thus, the 2019 case of LCYP v JEK [2019] HKCFI 1588 vividly demonstrated that fairness is in the eye of the beholder. The court purported to uphold the validity of a New Jersey prenuptial agreement entered into after negotiations, representation by separate and independent counsel and full financial disclosure. Yet it held that, because the parties' circumstances had changed significantly during the marriage in that the husband's business had flourished, the prenuptial agreement was now “unfair” and the court was now required to make a financial award sufficient to maintain the wife for life at a most affluent level, notwithstanding the prenuptial agreement.
The stark difference between the way that the courts in New Jersey would have treated the prenuptial agreement as compared to that of the Hong Kong courts underscores the fact that forum shopping by international people in contemplation of divorce can yield extremely significant results.
Our office has worked on several U.S. – Hong Kong prenuptial agreements. The husband in LCYP was our client. We work globally on divorce forum strategizing. We always collaborate with local counsel in all jurisdictions as appropriate.
Disclaimer: We are admitted to practice only in New York but work as appropriate with lawyers throughout all U.S. states and throughout the world.
Tuesday, December 08, 2020
Third Edition of The Hague Abduction by Jeremy D. Morley
Announcing: The Third Edition of The Hague Abduction by Jeremy D. Morley will soon be published by the American Bar Association. The Third Edition has been completely updated to reflect recent case law, especially concerning the key elements of habitual residence and grave risk of harm. The book includes a chapter on International Relocation and Travel.
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Belarus and the Hague Abduction Convention
The United States has not accepted the accession made by Belarus in 1998 to the Hague Abduction Convention (the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction).
This means that the
Convention is not in force between the two countries.
Therefore, the return
remedies set forth in the Convention cannot be utilized in respect of the
abduction of children from the United States to Belarus or from Belarus to the
United States.
The International Centre for
Missing & Exploited Children reported in 2016 that although the Ministry of
Justice is the Central Authority for any incoming and outgoing cases under the
Convention, no implementing legislation had been adopted in Belarus that
describes the return mechanism of an abducted child.
It reported further that the
Ministry of Interior of Belarus may issue a Belarus passport for a child upon
the consent of only one of the child’s parents.
It also reported that the
Law on the Order of Departure from the Republic of Belarus and Entry into the
Republic of Belarus by Citizens of the Republic of Belarus of 2009 permits only
one parent to remove a child from Belarus.
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
Seminar on COVID-19 Impact on Cross-Border Marriage, Divorce and Custody
Jeremy Morley will speak this Thursday, October 29 at 11am ET in a webinar, sponsored by the American Bar Association, entitled, “All in the Family: COVID-19 Impact on Cross-Border Marriage, Divorce and Custody.”
As the pandemic and its associated restrictions have remained
largely in place, divorces appear to be on the rise, child custody battles have
intensified, the separation between spouses due to stay at home orders has
wreaked havoc on cross-border couples and children visitation rights, and
immigration restrictions have prevented spouses from getting married or staying
together.
Jeremy will join other experienced and specialized attorneys to
discuss these difficult issues and suggest solutions to mitigate the impact of
the pandemic on these family arrangements.
To register, visit: https://www.americanbar.org/events-cle/mtg/web/405372130/
Friday, August 07, 2020
My recent Interview by Singapore attorney Sarah-Mae Thomas
I was recently interviewed about my practice as an international family lawyer by Singapore attorney Sarah-Mae Thomas. Here are links to the video and the podcast:
https://youtu.be/vgNbsXaY9V4
https://anchor.fm/sarah-mae-thomas
Friday, July 31, 2020
RULING ON MORLEY’S EXPERT TESTIMONY CONCERNING TRAVEL TO INDIA
Friday, July 17, 2020
State Department's Annual Report on International Child Abduction, 2020: UAE
Location: The Department of State did not request assistance with location from Emirati authorities.
Judicial Authorities: The United States is not aware of any abduction cases brought before or decided by the Emirati judiciary in 2019.
Enforcement: The United States is not aware of any abduction cases in which a judicial order relating to international parental child abduction needed to be enforced by the Emirati authorities.
Department Recommendations: The Department will continue to encourage the United Arab Emirates to accede to the Convention.