Why Are More Millennials Turning to Prenuptial Agreements?

It may be surprising to some, but martial longevity is one of the main reasons that millennial prenuptial agreements have increased more than 50 percent since 2013. About a third of millennials grew up with divorced parents, and they are willing to do whatever it takes to make their marriages last.

Money is one of the leading causes of marital strife, and a prenuptial agreement removes money from the equation. So, financial concerns never have a chance to poison a marriage. On a related note, more millennials are marrying later. As a result, they often have significant nonmarital debt. That debt can cause problems all on its own.

So, modern prenuptial agreements are more than divorce insurance. In many situations, a prenup might be the added glue that holds your marriage together when things get tough. Perhaps best of all, a good Clearwater family law attorney can draft an effective prenuptial agreement in as little as one office visit.

Making a Prenuptial Agreement

Money problems infect so many marriages because people have fundamentally different views about finances. Some people are spenders, and some people are savers. Prenuptial agreements set ground rules for both spouses to follow. So, there are fewer disagreements in this area. And, both spouses understand and appreciate their differences.

Similarly, fundamental issues affect divorce matters. Classifying and dividing marital property is often the most expensive and time-consuming portion of a marriage dissolution. Since prenuptial agreements decide these matters in advance, there is no need for protracted litigation that no one really wants.

Prenuptial agreements can also cover inheritance and succession matters. These issues are important if, as is commonly the case, at least one spouse has been married before. Generally, in Florida, divorce terminates inheritance rights. And, unless they are adopted, stepchildren might have no such rights. Frequently, that’s not the result the spouses want, especially if a family business is involved.

To clarify things, many attorneys draw up wills, trusts, and other executory documents to accompany a premarital agreement.

Breaking a Prenuptial Agreement

Very few written agreements are ironclad, and premarital agreements are no exception. Once upon a time, a web of laws governed the enforceability of premarital agreements. But the Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act changed this legal landscape. Under the UPMAA, there are basically two ways to overturn an unfavorable premarital pact:

• Unconscionable: There is a difference between uneven and unconscionable. A 70-30 division is uneven; an “I get all the assets and you get all the debts” division is unconscionable. Moreover, the division must have been unconscionable when it was made. Investments are a good example. Stock certificates are often worthless pieces of paper at one point and incredibly valuable a few years later.
• Involuntary: Premarital agreements could be involuntary in one of two ways. First, a spouse could apply undue pressure. The pressure must be so extreme that it approaches physical coercion. Second, one spouse could withhold financial information, so the other spouse did not know what s/he was signing. The withheld information must have been critical data, and the challenging spouse must have been unable to obtain the information elsewhere.

A majority of states have adopted the UPMAA. So, enforcement results are not just consistent in different Florida counties. In many cases, these results are consistent in other states as well.

Rely on an Experienced Lawyer

Prenups usually make marriages stronger. For a consultation with an experienced Clearwater divorce lawyer, contact Cairns Law, P.A. After-hours and home visits are available.

Resource:

cnbc.com/2016/11/25/before-saying-i-do-more-millennials-say-prenup.html

https://www.cairnslaw.com/love-baseball-and-prenuptial-agreements/