Prenuptial Agreements are on the Rise. Why Younger Couples are Taking Care of the Details Before Taking the Plunge.
By Tracy Ann Moore-Grant
Surveys by The Harris Poll reveal that prenuptial agreements are surging in popularity, particularly among younger generations. Over 50% of engaged or married adults under 45 have signed a prenup, roughly double the overall national average for all married couples (which sits around 20%). This trend is a smart move. Prenuptial Agreements are relatively low in cost compared to the cost of a contested divorce without such documentation.
The increase in Prenuptial Agreements is being driven by several factors. Younger clients do not view prenups as a "divorce insurance policy." They view them as a foundational financial planning tool. Driving factors include:
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- The High-Earning Millennial/Gen Z Woman: Women are initiating roughly half of modern prenups. They want to protect their career equity, business entities, or independent investments. [3, 4, 5]
- The Later-in-Life Marriages:: Individuals entering marriage in their late 30s or 40s who have already accumulated significant 401(k) balances, real estate, or stock options.
- The Debt-Conscious Spouse: Partners entering marriage with six-figure student loans or medical school debt who want to contractually isolate that debt to protect their new spouse. [6, 7, 8]
- Second Marriages: Parties who have already been through a divorce, acknowledge the importance of identifying what they had prior to marriage and preserving that value. Many understand that second marriages also have a higher rate of divorce and want to manage the risk.
Benefits of a prenuptial agreement include:
- Debt Shielding: A prenup can act as a defensive mechanism to ensure one partner’s premarital student loans or credit card debt never becomes joint liability.
- Marital Harmony Through Transparency:The drafting process for the prenuptial agreements act as an exercise in financial intimacy and radical transparency that actually strengthens the relationship before day one.
- Protection of "Separate Digital Wealth": Amicable Divorce Network professionals are vetted for experience in family law and have the ability to handle complex, modern assets like cryptocurrency, intellectual property, small businesses, digital content creator revenue channels, and startup equity.
- Lifestyle and Non-Financial Clauses: Many don’t understand prenuptial agreement can be designed for the issues specific to your circumstances. Creative drafting for unique situations require professionals with the experience to assist. Issues now coming up in prenuptial agreements include custody arrangements, social media non-disparagement clauses, how to handle homes purchased prior to marriage and embryo disposition. [9, 10, 11, 12, 13]
To find a vetted professional to assist you with a prenuptial agreement, head to our Membership Directory and search under Legal Professionals for someone near you.
[3] https://theorlandocriminaldefense.com
[5] https://www.alatsaslawfirm.com
[7] https://www.schwartz-white.com
[9] https://www.contractscounsel.com
I founded the Amicable Divorce Network in 2019 to help parties move forward through and after divorce, focus on the children, and identify like minded professionals who have the same mission-all over the world. As an attorney and mediator (and I am divorced myself!) I saw many families being pushed into contentious situations created by attorneys when they really just wanted a reasonable divorce but mistakenly chose the wrong professionals.
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