Why Are More And More Millennials Seeking Out Prenuptial Agreements?
As attorneys who regularly practice family law here in Florida, we regularly receive a number of questions from both individuals and couples about prenuptial agreements—why people get them, myths versus truths, etc. In particular, more and more millennials are interested in prenups, and with good reason, as they face more financial and employment insecurity and instability than previous generations. They are also getting married later in life, and young women are making higher incomes now than previous generations, meaning that there are additional assets and debts, as well as the potential for women to pay alimony upon divorce.
What Prenups Can Do & Why They Are a Good Idea
Prenups can accomplish a number of things—safeguarding assets for children, inheritance, preventing you from taking on your spouse’s debt, etc. The average college graduate has $40,000 in student loan debt when they graduate. Given that marriage is a legal agreement to merge assets and debts, many people that there is no choice but to enter into it with complete transparency and trust, and the way to accomplish that is being honest and open about the expectations each has, entering into the marriage.
Marriage is perhaps the most important financial decision you will make in your lifetime, therefore, it arguably makes more sense to go into it understanding the terms fully and with protection. The process of addressing a prenuptial agreement leads to the parties openly and honestly discussing their financials—a process that might not otherwise occur often leads to mature conversations about expectations of the relationship. In addition, in the instance of divorce, prenups can eliminate a costly legal battle by allowing two people to decide on major asset decisions while they are in love and getting along as opposed to angry, hurt, and resentful; arguing in court.
How to Approach the Process
Going into the process, we typically provide these tips to both individuals and couples considering a prenup:
- Start discussing it as early as possible. You do not want to wait until you are close to the wedding, as this could threaten the validity of the agreement, particularly if one party argues that they felt pressured into entering it, without being provided with the ability to properly think it over;
- Make sure that each party has their own legal representation (i.e. their own attorney). Using the same attorney for both parties could constitute a conflict of interest and result in the agreement being held invalid;
- Discuss as much as you can amongst yourselves prior to and in between consulting your attorneys in order to reduce costs;
- Be careful about online options, as they cannot cater to your personal, individual needs, and there are risks that they could be legally problematic if they are one-size-fits-all and do not conform with state law; and
- Stay on topic—keep in mind that there are topics that cannot be addressed by a prenup, such as child support payments.
Contact Our Florida Prenuptial Attorneys to Find Out More
Prenuptial agreements provide a very necessary service to millions of individuals and couples every year. Contact our Florida prenuptial agreements attorneys at William Wallshein, P.A. today to find out how we can help you get started planning.
Resource:
instyle.com/lifestyle/hump-day-prenuptial-agreements
