A friend of mine is marrying the man of her dreams. Turns out, he’s also very wealthy. She is an independent professional and while the money is a bonus, it is certainly not the reason she is marrying him.
So to erase any suspicion in his and other people’s minds, she suggested they sign a prenuptial agreement. She wanted him to know that she was marrying the man, not the bank account.
(She said he got a bit choked up when she gave him this gift.)
When I married the hubby, I did not sign a prenup. Why? Because we came into the relationship with equal assets (which we then used to buy a house and pay for the wedding). We were young (mid 20’s). We had no kids, no previous marital history (not even any serious boy/girlfriends). Neither of us owned businesses at the time or had massive bills. So there was no need.
Who needs a prenup?
According to MsMoney.com,
· A woman who is bringing a lot of assets to the partnership ($100,000 and up)
· A woman who has children from a prior marriage
· A woman who owns her own business or is a partner in a company
· A woman on a fast career path who is likely to earn a hefty salary
· A woman who is paying for her spouse to get an advanced degree
Basically any couple that has a wide financial disparity or other people with prior claims on the money (business partners get very nervous without prenup agreements as they could, in the case of divorce, end up being partners with your spouse).
What if you didn’t sign a prenuptial agreement and should have? It’s not too late. A similar agreement signed after the wedding is called a postnuptial agreement.