CNBC says prenups are on the rise… and Dallas Texas family law attorneys agree. A whopping 73 percent of divorce attorneys say they’ve seen an increase in the pre-marital documents, according to a recent survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. What’s more, 52 percent of them said they’ve seen an increase in women initiating the requests.
"Prenuptial agreements are becoming more generally accepted as an effective way to protect assets. Interestingly, these requests are no longer just limited to a specific gender or age group," said Marlene Eskind Moses, president of the AAML.
Part of it can be attributed to the recession. People are generally paying more attention to their finances and future-planning these days. And, more women are wanting to protect their future too. These days, more women are working and may be earning more than their husband-to-be, so they want to protect what will be their’s. Other women may want to make sure they are not thrown out on the street with nothing if the marriage ends.
Pensions and retirement accounts are increasingly being included in prenups, the survey showed. Thirty-six percent of the lawyers surveyed said they’re seeing an increase in retirement savings being a part of the prenup. Part of that is people marrying later in life, though it’s also the fact that many have watched their retirement accounts dwindle in the past few years. They do not want to divide their retirement accounts twice — once in the market declines and again in divorce.
Many people feel prenups are distasteful and against the grain of marriage. But, marriage is a partnership — a business deal in some respects — and any good partnership has a written agreement defining the relationship and addressing potential eventualities like death or break-up. Marriage should be no different.