When you are planning your wedding, all you can probably think of is spending the rest of your life with your soon-to-be spouse. Divorce is the last thing on your mind. You don’t even want to think about your marriage ending when it hasn’t even begun yet.
However, you can’t predict the future. In some situations, you should consider a prenuptial agreement to make sure that your finances are secure regardless of what happens.
One of you has been married before
There are several reasons that a prenup is a good idea. If this isn’t your first marriage, you might be bringing in several assets you already own, such as:
- Property that you may or may not co-own
- Retirement accounts
- Previous debts
The other person might not want or need to be responsible for any of these—especially if you get a divorce later. In your prenup you can both decide who takes on what assets if you separate in the future.
One of you owns a business
Small-business owners or entrepreneurs invest a lot of time, money and passion into their work. If you don’t come up with an arrangement beforehand, divorce could result in you losing much of your investment. If both of you agree on it beforehand, you can use a prenup to keep your business out of future asset division.
One of you plan on staying at home
Whether you already have kids or plan to, you have to decide how you will balance work and childcare. Maybe you’ve both decided that one of you is going to be a stay-at-home parent. Although full-time parenting is a big job, technically it means that one of you won’t be working.
As the stay-at-home parent, you’ll be spending a lot of time off of work, and you might have trouble getting a job if you ever get divorced. A prenup could take care of you while you figure out the next chapter of your career.
No one plans on getting a divorce when they are getting married. But signing a prenup doesn’t mean you expect your marriage to end. You can secure your and your spouse’s future by setting up some ground rules if things change later.