Mumbai, May 29 -- When marriages end in divorce, it can get quite ugly, especially when it comes to dividing property and assets. The courts award both interim maintenance and final settlement amounts, even in the case of mutual divorce. These can impose a heavy burden upon one of the spouses. According to lawyers that Mint spoke to, several solutions are available. While none of them is foolproof, each can reduce the risk in litigation. Marriage is generally entered into with the thought of living 'happily ever after' and few imagine that things will go sour. However, a certain percentage of marriages fail every year. There are no defined laws on the division of assets and court judgments can vary hugely according to the view taken by the judge overseeing the case. One spouse does not automatically get 50% of the assets and property. The courts aim to maintain the same standard of living for both spouses after separation, which could mean the spouse who brought a large number of assets into the marriage may suddenly find himself or herself compelled to pay a large sum as maintenance or final settlement. In the absence of defined laws, divorce cases can drag on for several years. A family lawyer, on condition of anonymity, told Mint it is a common practice to file interim maintenance applications under the Hindu Marriage Act, Domestic Violence Act and Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (now replaced by the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita or BNSS). Once interim maintenance is granted, it can take five to seven years for a final decree. In the case of marriages under the Hindu Marriage Act, the courts do not generally recognize prenuptial agreements. These are considered as opposed to public policy and hence void under the Indian Contract Act, 1872. "The law views Hindu marriage as a sacrament and not a contract. In the past, courts have taken a view that prenuptial agreements can be considered as promoting separation or divorce and are against public policy," said Varun Sriram, a partner at J Sagar Associates. Moreover, conditions in a prenuptial agreement which deny a spouse, alimony or maintenance are invalid because it overrides their statutory rights. However, the chances of recognition of prenups, or at least their persuasive value, are higher in the case of Muslims, Christians and Parsis, who are governed by different laws that recognize the contractual element in marriage. "If you look at the Nikah namah under Muslim law or the Indian Divorce Act for Christians, there are some differences compared to the Hindu Marriage Act. Nikah namah, an Islamic marriage contract, can have certain terms and conditions of marriage, which can be considered in the nature of a prenup," Sriram said. Similarly, an ante-nuptial contract is explicitly recognised in the Divorce Act, 1869, which applies to Christians, said Ankur Borwankar, founder of Prenup India, a platform to create prenuptial agreements online with legal experts. The Portuguese Civil Code, 1867, which applies to persons domiciled in Goa, also does recognize ante-nuptial agreements....