Prenups Aren’t Just for the Wealthy Anymore

While prenuptial agreements used to be reserved for the wealthy, a growing number of Americans are signing these contracts before saying “I do” across the altar.

In a 2022 Harris Poll report, 15 percent of U.S. adults surveyed said they’ve signed a prenup, a steady uptick from just 3 percent in 2010.

And a total of 35 percent of unmarried people said they were likely to sign a prenup in the future too.

Matt Furman, the dating expert behind Connection Copilot, said he got a prenup before his marriage because he knows how likely divorces can be.

“Divorce is extremely common and courts favor the woman in terms of settlement agreements, regardless of the man’s financial status,” Furman told Newsweek.

Tim Connon, the founder of Tennessee-based ParamountQuote Insurance Advisors, had a slightly different reason for making the legal agreement before tying the knot.

“Our reason was because we both believe the Bible says that a woman has no right to a man’s possessions under any circumstances,” Connon told Newsweek. “This is why she agreed to a prenup in case things just did not work out and they didn’t.”

Prenups are becoming increasingly common as Americans learn more about the financial realities of divorce, which can often split your financial assets right down the middle or leave you with hefty alimony payments.

“I think more people are doing this because they fear the legal hassle it presents and puts them at great financial risk to not have one,” Connon said. “They may feel insecure and want to protect their assets from being disputed against them.”

A Sign of the Financial Times

Experts say the trend toward the prenup reflects a growing desire for financial security among the younger generation. They’ve experienced significant rates of student debt and a high degree of inflation as they make major life decisions like home buying and marriage.

According to a survey from Real Estate Witch, roughly three-quarters of millennials have more than $100,000 in debt on average without including their home mortgages.

People are also getting married later in life, with the average age at marriage between 28 and 30, compared to 25 and 26 two decades ago.

“There is really no purpose to an agreement when you are young and poor because prenuptial agreements will do little to prevent the building of community or marital property when you start from zero,” Zachary Ashby, an attorney at Pacific Northwest Family Law, told Newsweek.

“But if you are getting married when you have workforce experience, have retirement accounts, or even a house because you are marrying when you are at least somewhat established, a prenuptial agreement offers some protection.”

And since women have more financial freedom than they did in decades past, there might be more of an incentive to outline who gets what in the case of a divorce down the line.

“More and more women have focused on a career and becoming financially independent before getting married,” Anna Blood, the managing attorney at Blood Law, told Newsweek.

“They also grew up watching older generations of divorced women have to start completely over because their former partners were the breadwinners while they were stay-at-home moms.”

While no one hopes to get divorced, it’s a layer of protection and mutual agreement between two individuals in case things go wrong, Blood said.

Much of the younger generation has seen their parents fight through nasty divorce court battles, and they may hope to avoid history repeating itself, experts say.

As these shifts take place, prenuptial agreements are becoming far less about wealth and instead just clarify financial expectations between two people before they get married.

If this pattern continues, there could be an entirely new perspective on these types of legal agreements, which have been considered taboo and pessimistic in the past, according to Bayu Prihandito, a life coach and founder of Life Architekture.

In the future, relationships could be more fluid and less bound by traditional norms, Prihandito said.

“The emphasis will be on mutual respect, understanding, and personal growth,” Prihandito told Newsweek. “Contracts like prenups will be seen less as a lack of trust and more as a tool for clarity and mutual understanding. The essence will shift from ’till death do us part’ to ‘as long as we continue to grow together.'”