The world has been a different place in the last 30 years. More women are enrolled in college than men. In some families the wife/mother may have the hirer income. The rumor is that ½ of all marriages end in divorce and depending on where you pull this stat from its as low as 40% or as high as 52%. Interesting stats in the article from Forbes. Revealing Divorce Statistics In 2024 – Forbes Advisor Either way it’s a problem.
So, the question is should young couples getting married these days make having a “simple” prenuptial agreement in place a thing? I use the word “simple” for this conversation, with the assumption most young couples under the age of say 30 probably do not have large estates they need to “protect”. But seriously should this start to become a more “normal’ practice.
If handled correctly earlier in a relationship, and money is openly discussed in a relationship, maybe that will help a relationship avoid what seems to be a major reason why people divorce in the first place, money.
Most states have very specific laws around divorce, like my state is a “no fault” state, so hey if my husband wants to have several “girlfriends” and I divorce him and say I should get more than half of the assets because the divorce is “his fault”! Ya that’s not going to fly, everything is split 50-50. Side note… To the best of my knowledge “the husband” has NO girlfriends, and all is good. 😊The point here is knowing your state’s laws on IF this goes south. I’m not a lawyer, but regardless of how a marriage ends, one person always seems to do better than the other. ☹ But back to the original question of should you have a prenup?
I would bet 99% of couples getting married think they are going to spend the rest of their lives with this person! It’s going to be great! Just like a Lifetime movie, I just know it! We will live in a new amazing house, have 2 perfect children that will go to the best schools, and we will drive nice cars!
Ya that’s what marriage is all about….Then the mortgage payments, and the first baby, and the daycare bill…. Look it’s all good, some spots are tough to get through, but you get through it. But sometimes the best thing to do is to part ways, and that’s Ok too. If a prenup was in place stating the rules upfront while you are still in that romance phase, maybe this can save some emotional pain, and lots of money down the road should things not work out.
Why should you lose the family beach house that you owned before meeting your future spouse, because everything is 50/50, due to the law. Just saying…
Now what you build TOGETHER as a couple, during the time you are married, ya that should be up for being part of the split. EX. If one spouse ends up staying home with the kids, or working part time to off set the cost of day care, so that spouse contributes less to a retirement account, then ALL the funds in retirement accounts should be divided 50/50, from what ever the balance of the account was on the day of the marriage. I’m not saying that’s the law, that’s my opion…but come on if one partner has $10,000 in credit card debt and the other has $0 in debt and $100K in a 401k…. That would really suck if 5 years down the road you lose ½! I know it’s not romantic and lets stay away from the word “trust “ and all that BS… We are talking real world. According to this article from NPR.org, 15% of people these days have a prenup. Twelve years ago, that was only 3%. Looks like it’s trending! 😉Prenuptial agreements: Who should get one? How much do they cost? : Life Kit : NPR This might be the way to go. Bottom line is if you have a strong marriage, and you have a prenup and you never need to use it, great! If you do need to implement it… Hopefully it served its purpose and both sides leave with no surprises and a lower bill from the attorney. 😊
two chicks talking money. 