The last thing most people want to talk about before getting married is what they’ll do if they get divorced. However, even if you ultimately decide not to sign a prenuptial agreement, the conversation you need to have in order to make one is an important step for couples and can bring you closer together.
A prenup is a document that outlines a financial agreement between you and your spouse-to-be so that in the event of divorce, your state laws and the court system are not going to make the decisions for you. For instance, if one of you has funds you’ve amassed before the marriage, you can protect them so they stay with you if you divorce, rather than getting divvied up as part of the marital assets.
If one of you has children from a previous union and you want to designate certain funds for a college education, you can do that in a prenup. You can even put in things such as how you will pay bills and how you will handle credit card debt. Certain things are not covered under a prenup, such as property division if you divorce, custody of children, and child and ex-spousal support.
It is certainly a smart thing to do if you’ve got a company or earn a substantially larger amount than your spouse. However, a prenup is also an emotional decision. Some stepmothers decide not to sign one because they feel it’s sending their husbands the message that they aren’t totally committed to the marriage, since they’re already planning for divorce.