As many of our readers are successful investors and business owners, one of the common questions I receive here at NoLimitsLadies is about prenups. Frankly I'm not the person to answer this question. I got married fairly young before having significant investments and getting a prenup didn't even enter my brain.
So I was thrilled when an expert on prenups, Dr. Lona Smith, the happily married author of Help! He Wants Me to Sign a Prenup, approached me to do a four part series, generously sharing some of her knowledge (not only on prenups but on negotiating anything).
Why consider a prenup?
Dr. Lona Smith: "You worked really hard for your money and everything that you have. A Prenup will protect what is rightfully yours - plain and simple. No one ever truly knows what their martial future holds, a Prenup is the smart financial move for any woman. The sad reality is that all marriages will end: death or divorce. A Prenup is love insurance against these 2 Ds. It’s your money, you should decide its destiny.
If you do not have a Prenup, you could potentially lose half of your earnings and half the growth of all your assets that accumulated during your marriage if a divorce occurs. Do you want the possibility of having to pay alimony? Hell no! Then he must sign on the dotted line. A divorce is not only about money. You could also lose half or more of YOUR house, retirement fund, pets, stocks, investments, cars, and business. Prenups make a potential divorce less stressful because the terms have already been decided upon. You are too busy, who wants to add this emotional turmoil into our life?
Prenups are becoming the norm. A Prenup is for the every man and every WOMAN!"
Yikes. I didn't even think about the pets bit ('course I don't have any pets, the hubby being allergic, but I do have Fern the Second).