Summer is fast approaching, and you may be planning the last-minute details of your June, July or August wedding. While you focus on choosing what food to serve or what your reception entertainment will be, you may want to add another item to your wedding to-do list: getting a prenuptial agreement.
Prenuptial agreements are becoming increasingly more common among marrying couples, with a 62% spike in couples seeking a prenup in recent years. Largely, millennials are driving the trend. They are marrying later and often have seen how a divorce financially affected their parents.
Yet you may think that because you aren’t wealthy, you don’t need to worry about getting a prenuptial agreement. However, here are five reasons you may need a prenuptial agreement even if you don’t have millions in the bank:
- You own a home and want to protect your ownership of it in case of divorce.
- You run your own business and want to protect your business assets, so if you divorce, it won’t impact your business as much.
- You are nearing retirement and you want to protect your retirement assets in case of divorce.
- You earn a lot more than your spouse and want to limit how much you may have to pay in spousal support down the road.
- Your partner has significant debts. If you divorce, you may have to pay on some of these debts if you don’t have a prenup.
- You are remarrying and you want to ensure your children from your first marriage are protected and will receive some of your assets if you pass away.
- You plan on exiting the workforce to raise children and want to stipulate what assets you will receive in a divorce.
In past years, many couples have feared seeking prenuptial agreements because they felt doing so would doom their marriage. However, seeking a prenuptial agreement can help you and your future spouse have some honest money conversations and help you get on the same page about your finances. With an attorney’s help, you can get a prenuptial agreement that protects you and your important assets if necessary.