Why shouldn't marriage be just another civil contract?
The expectations of a marriage contract relate to a bnygone time when women were utterly dependent on their spouses, very few women worked and those that could earned only a fraction of their male counterparts.
By contrast now, women are far more independent, generally achieving high academic achievements and certainly have equal rights and equal pay with males.
The notion of "till death do us part" is far more romantic than practical in modern society and whilst the (sharing of) "all .. worldly goods" is perhaps relevent for the youngest and least well-established love-struck hopefuls, it holds much more sinister overtones for more mature home-owners established in lucrative careers.
Now, as the bubble of domestic internet dating loses some of its lustre, more and more potential mates emanate from abroad - beautiful women anticipating a life of love and happiness in the UK but a condition of residence for many would be marriage to a UK citizen.
Poor survival rates of modern marriages must demand that property laws adjust to contemporary needs of appropriateness and ultimate fairness.
Nobody in their right minds is going to be happy risking their childrens' inheritance for any romantic interlude no matter how intense or optimistic the honeymoon phase appears.
Pre-nup agreements have been around for a while and usually for the very well-off but the divorce courts haven't given them the full credence they deserve.
Certainly there needs to be adequate - and proportional - provision for any children of the union but for more senior, beyond child-bearing, relationships there should be a pre-nup disclosure and agreement about sharing and protecting individual assets in the unhappy event the relationship breaks down
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