Is a prenuptial agreement important?

[bride2b]

A question for those who are married and those who have been divorced. What is your opinion on a prenuptial agreement? Did you have one when you got married? If you're divorced, do you wish that you had one if you didn't? On a scale of one to ten, how important is a prenup in your opinion?

[moneybags]

I did not have one when I got married. We were both young, educated, and starting out with nothing. What we have now, we built together. If I were to be in a situation where I was getting married and I had a lot of money, I would definitely get a prenup. I'm realistic, and 50% of marriages end in divorce, so I would protect my money!

[btctony]

I did not have one when I got married. We were both young, educated, and starting out with nothing. What we have now, we built together. If I were to be in a situation where I was getting married and I had a lot of money, I would definitely get a prenup. I'm realistic, and 50% of marriages end in divorce, so I would protect my money!

I agree. If you have nothing to lose, it's really not worth paying an attorney to write one up. If you have 100K in savings/investments and your partner has nothing, I would go for a pre-nup. Or even if both of you have a substantial amount of money in savings/investments, I would elect for a pre-nup. What you have going into a marriage is what you should leave with, in the event the situation arises. If the partner truly is not in it for the money, they'll be fine with it. Never fall for the "pre-nups are just not romantic" thing.

[disneysteve]

I agree that it depends on the situation. Do either of you have substantial assets? Do either of you have children from a previous marriage?

[dczech09]

In my opinion, prenups are a good idea. Prenups should be seen as protecting and benefiting both parties, not just one. Yeah "its not romantic" but it is practical.

Put it this way: divorce when there is a lot of negative emotion flowing is not the time to be making financial decisions. So make the decisions while you are thinking straight, that way if a divorce happens, then you are prepared.

I don't think prenups are about planning for a divorce; they are about insuring against one. We ensure against other life-changing, negative events. So why not add divorce to the list? I sure don't want the state deciding what happens if God-forbid I were to get a divorce.

[jeffrey]

Here's a way to look at it. If you don't create your own agreement, then the state creates it for you. You have a prenuptial agreement the second you get married (and in some states, even before you get married). You just need to decide if you want the state to make it or if you want to create it yourselves. I think if you look at it from this perspective, it can take a lot of the emotion out of it.

[dczech09]

Here's a way to look at it. If you don't create your own agreement, then the state creates it for you. You have a prenuptial agreement the second you get married (and in some states, even before you get married). You just need to decide if you want the state to make it or if you want to create it yourselves. I think if you look at it from this perspective, it can take a lot of the emotion out of it.

Great way to view things! We all have a prenuptial agreement as determined by the state. The only question is whether we are going write our own in order to circumvent the state.