Prenuptial agreements, or "prenups," are on the rise among millennials and it isn't for the reasons you might think.
Historically, prenups have not been popular; however, studies show that they've seen an increase in popularity among millennials over the last few years. Specifically, more women are asking for them. There's still a huge difference between liking the idea of one and getting one: While roughly one third of Americans say that they make sense, less than 5 percent actually have one.
In an interview with PureWow, Erica Bernstein, an associate at the law firm Berger Schatz, explains two reasons why prenups are becoming more common.
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The first is that, on average, people are getting married later. "Prenups aren’t just for people protecting major inheritances anymore; they’re for people who’ve had meaningful careers before marriage and want to protect their business interests, condos they’ve purchased, assets they’ve accumulated, and more," Bernstein explains. In a new survey shared by HuffPost from the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), the three items most commonly covered in prenups are the protection of separate property, alimony/spousal maintenance, and the division of property.
For richer or for poorer also applies for prenups: Previously perceived as only being useful for people who are wealthy or when protecting a family inheritance, a prenup can actually be helpful with the opposite. It can protect you should you choose to take time off to raise kids or if either or both of you have significant student loan debt. A prenup can be tailored to fit a variety of situations. Like life insurance, you don't get it because you think you'll need it – you get it so you're prepared for the unexpected.
The second reason is that we're more exposed to divorce than before. "The more you hear about it, the more likely you are to think about what you would do in a similar situation," shares Berstein. While we may say "till death do us part," that's not always the case. With life comes the unexpected. You don't go into a marriage thinking it won't work out. If you're getting married, an agreement in the event that it fails is probably the last thing you want to think about; however, it can provide an added element of security that can make things simpler should the worse case scenario occur.