Will You Sign a Prenup?

New Yorkers Laura Jackson and Gary Zaremba met on a dating website in 2005. Two years later, Mr. Zaremba, a 52-year-old real-estate developer, popped the question. Ms. Jackson accepted.


Then he popped another: "Will you sign a prenuptial agreement?"


He had been through a divorce, had a college-age son and several real-estate investments. She, a publicist and also 52, had never married.


"When he first mentioned it," Ms. Jackson, now Ms. Jackson-Zaremba, says, "I thought, 'Oh, my God.' It definitely took a little bit of the romance out."


Baby boomers looking to protect their assets are increasingly turning to prenuptial agreements—legal contracts drawn up before a marriage that dictate what happens to assets in the event a couple should part ways, either by divorce or death.


"They used to be for the rich and famous," says Marlene Eskind Moses, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and a lawyer in Nashville, Tenn. "It's become more commonplace in the market as an estate-planning opportunity for boomers."


Even before the financial crisis hit, prenuptial agreements were on the rise: Some 80% of matrimonial lawyers said they had seen an increase in couples signing them in recent years, according to a 2006 survey sponsored by the matrimonial lawyers group.


More: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703280004575309013835978070.html?mod=WSJASIA_hps_MIDDLEFourthNews

Would I sign? Depends on the nature of the pre-nup.


I can see why they are popular, and perhaps a good idea. IF you divorce there will be a splitting of assets. This will likely be done in an adversarial environment, with perhaps a desire to punish.


If this is sorted out before the wedding it is more likely to be fair. As the environment is unlikely to be adversarial, because you are at the love (and not the hate stage). You will also want to appear loving in how you divide any future assets, and an adversarial or selfish approach will be likely to blow the offer of marriage out.

Elizabeth Taylor got richer after each of her marriages. Guess pre-nups weren't too common then or the people at that time were more simple and trusting!

Life was simpler back then. If you got divorced your wife took half your money, and the lawyers took the other half.


It was also a world where, for the most part, wives would not have any assets of own. There were exceptions, but the law was probably built around the default case for the majority.

Why the old rich people need to get married?


There are more and more divoced older people choose to live together without a marriage, that's more simple than prenup...

Just living together without a pre-nup works but can run into a major problem for people. If for example one person is dependent on the other, either financially or for a roof over their head, and the provider dies without making a will. Or if other relatives contest the will. Sorting out the will, if contested, can take years. In the mean time the old person can really suffer.

Sad fact of modern life. A few points to consider -


Yong or Poor people can become wealthy many years later... assuming they are with the same person, then suddenly the wealth becomes an issue in any break up. And, even poor people, can sue for support. We had a case in HK where one man was earning only HK$4K per month, and his wife was coming after him for money (both had legal aid).


In some countries once you have lived together for 6 months you are able to go after the others assets after a split - so not getting married is no protection.


It's fair to the poorer party (normally the lady, but sometimes the man)... they know exactly what they are getting into.


Further, a prenup can help avoid the "mugging accident" / "Thailand holidays accident" / "Diving accident" murders sometimes used to solve difficult divorces.