If you have started thinking about getting married, you may also wonder how to best protect yourself from the risks involved. Every marriage can potentially end in divorce, which can be expensive and stressful. Working with your fiance(e) to create a prenuptial agreement that protects you both can be a way to marry with confidence, no matter what the future holds.
Just a few decades ago, prenuptial agreements were niche arrangements, often demanded by the rich or famous during their engagements. There was once a serious stigma attached to requesting a prenuptial agreement, and the average couple would never think of signing one. People might think of them as a document that protects one spouse at the expense and risk of the other.
However, there has been a significant reversal of the social attitude regarding prenuptial agreements. They have become more popular than ever in recent years. Why are more engaged couples negotiating prenuptial agreements before they tie the knot?
Modern couples know the impact of divorce
With a significant number of modern marriages ending in divorce, the risk is there no matter how well-intentioned an engaged couple is at the time of their wedding. If either fiance(e) has divorced parents or a close friend who has divorced, they will know firsthand how acrimonious and expensive the dissolution of marriage can become.
Couples recognize that by setting certain terms before they get married, they can limit the lasting consequences of divorce if they later separate. With people marrying later in life and both spouses often working, couples have more to lose and protect when they combine households.
People now view it as a responsible choice
The lasting prevalence of divorce has changed the way that people think of prenuptial agreements. They are no longer a way for a wealthy person to manipulate and trick a less-fortunate fiance(e). Instead, they are a way for people to mutually protect their income and resources.
Bringing up a prenuptial agreement will no longer have the chilling effect on a relationship it once would have. Instead, it may tell your fiance(e) that you are serious about making things work and about keeping things respectful even if something happens to your relationship. Drafting a prenuptial agreement before you get married can be a way for you and your fiance(e) to protect individual assets and your shared future.
