Gadget pre-nup stops break-up woe

Pixmania.com has come up with an idea to solve the problem of who gets the household gadgets when a couple splits up.

The website has created the world's first downloadable gadget pre-nuptial agreement (PDF) known as the 'E-Nup'.

The document proclaims itself to be humorous, but divorce lawyer Vanessa Lloyd Platt, of Lloyd Platt & Co, warned that the gadgets issue is a genuine area of concern.

"Together with the house and car, gadgets are the new battleground," she said. "It makes sense to protect your belongings before you commit or split. Doing so can save heartache and hassle in the long run."

Platt said that her firm handles 500 divorces a year and that Christmas is the most popular time for separations.

Research by Pixmania.com suggests that the UK consumer electronics market is worth £11bn a year, and that the average home has 16 gadgets at a total value of more than £1,000.

"The E-Nup offers emotional and financial protection for precious gadgets in the event of a messy break-up," said a Pixmania.com spokesman.

Ulric Jérome, managing director of Pixmania.com, said that expensive technology should be insured like any other valuable possession.

"The obvious place to launch the E-Nup was in the UK, as the British spend the most on gadgets, and online gadget spending this Christmas is set to break all records," he said.

Despite the fact that pre-nuptial agreements are not currently binding in the UK and some other jurisdictions, Platt insisted that they could help.

"English courts do not like deciding how people should divide their gadgets, but where they do, evidence of who bought the item or a document outlining who will get what, will be very strong," she said.

"I believe that written agreements like the E-Nup will stop the increase in gadget wars once and for all."

Pixmania.com said the items British couples were most likely to row over included flat-screen TVs, games consoles, MP3 players, digital photo frames and laptops/PCs.