A prenup is something I personally associate with movies as I only ever hear of them in American films or TV shows and certainly not something I considered when I got married. It seems a little sad that just as you are entering your marriage that you are thinking about the possibility of it ending. For those who do have money, property or belongings that are worth something or indeed they are due to inherit something of value from their parents in the future- it's understandable that they might want to protect themselves if the worst happens. Or simply to leave the marriage with what they had, even if it was not much when they start up on their own again.
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That said, prenups are no longer something that wealthy people do according to new stats- in fact many younger couples are choosing to sign a prenup before they get tie the knot.
Most young couples would not give signing a prenup a second thought before they get married- reinforcing the point that it is no longer something only celebrities enter into.
More than half of under 35s see prenups as completely normal when entering into a marriage and a third would sign one. Nearly half think that prenups are a common precursor to marriage and 63% would not be offended if their partner asked them to sign one.
Research has revealed that these agreements are not as common amongst the older population- in fact many of the over 55s consider this an unromantic gesture before walking down the aisle.
Unsurprisingly, the main reason for signing a prenup is to protect their assets as well as those belonging to their parents. Despite committing to this- they also don't want to come across as a so called 'money grabber'. Others were concerned that their partner might be carless with their money as well as their own or that history would repeat itself and they would lose money a second time around after being burned once before.
The family law specialists Slater and Gordon have seen a marked increase in prenuptial agreements year on year which supports these findings.
Only a quarter of Brits hold the notion that prenups are only for the rich and famous and believe them to be just as normal as choosing the cake or flowers in the wedding preparations. Only 17% believe that prenups are offensive and a quarter think they are something that only celebrities consider to be important.
Prenups can also ease some of the issues if the marriage ends in divorce and 10% of divorcees believe that having one of these to their name would have made the process easier.
It does however beg the question- what if couples make arrangements before getting married and then make verbal agreements during the marriage which renders one of them with nothing in the event of a split? Prenups cover you only for recorded agreements- what if after a few years of being a couple that the pair get sloppy and don't make a record of a change of heart?
It would seem that prenups could have the potential to be an ongoing process, however if the couple are not vigilant enough throughout their marriage- the end result may not be in both people's favour.
Perhaps prenups are a particularly good idea in marriage where there is a big age difference. Generally speaking an older person might have more to their name than someone who is just starting out- so it might be a sensible option for a marriage of this kind.
Make of life what you will- is an excellent mantra when deciding to prenup or not to prenup- because, can you really trust anyone 100%? There is no going back and people can't blame others if they leave a marriage with little or nothing because they decided to take a risk and not back themselves up over the potential of a negative outcome.
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