Using prenuptial agreements to mitigate future financial struggles
Disagreement over money is often considered the top reason for divorce. Thoughts of romance, a wedding and family are usually in the forefront of marriage, overshadowing the importance of communicating about finances. To mitigate future problems, couples in California may consider signing a prenuptial agreement. Though not always considered a romantic gesture, this agreement provides an understanding of each other’s financial attitudes entering a marriage. And this understanding may help to lessen fights over finances after a couple ties the knot.
Couples planning to wed may want to look at some recent statistics regarding finances and truthfulness in a marriage. A recent survey shows that approximately half of the 23,230 surveyed married adults admitted to financial infidelities with their partners. Thirty-seven percent of men and 56 percent of women admitted to lying to their partners regarding money.
Despite the percentage of men and women hiding spending from their spouses, 63 percent of men and 70 percent of women also reported that being honest about money is important in keeping the foundation of a relationship strong.
A 40-year-old nurse shared that she secretly opened a bank account funded with the overtime pay from her job to spend on facials, peels and $250 wrinkle injections at the dermatologists four times a year. Her husband doesn’t know that this separate bank account exists.
A 45-year-old woman faced struggles as her marriage reached the brink of separation. In 2001, her then-husband made purchases that caused turmoil during the divorce. The couple’s separation left the woman with two mortgages. The woman wasn’t financially capable of paying the mortgages so she filed for bankruptcy.
Requesting a prenuptial agreement doesn’t mean that one person doubts the honesty of the other. This plan can help couples address financial expectations before marriage in order to avoid problems that may come in the future from a failure to do so.
Source: USA Today, “Financial infidelity has its costs,” Jere Downs, Dec. 31, 2012
