As your big day approaches, raising the topic of how a potential break up could be managed is far from most people's minds, let alone on the 'to-do' list. Who wants to contemplate the breakdown of the relationship before the register has even been signed?

It is the starting point of a presumption of shared parenting that has a massive psychological impact on the parents; for the parent with whom the child spends greater time, it is a constant reminder that the other parent has an equal say in their upbringing.

In the last decade or so, the divorce courts of England and Wales have won the reputation of being among the most 'wife-friendly' around. A number of high-profile and high-value cases have highlighted a significant shift in how settlements were calculated. Historically, the principal factor in dividing marital assets had involved meeting the needs of the financially weaker spouse.

This week the world's media has reported on the marriage of Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of facebook.