Prenup

We did but if I could go back I would’ve put my foot down more with his family because it wasn’t necessary for us to do one. If either of you owns property, a business, or has significant assets I think they can be good. For something like a trust or inheritance it’s not usually necessary.

Thank you, that is good to know.

Definitely considered it.

Yup, we did one. I just had my last meeting with my attorney today.

I am considering it. I have property from my late first husband and I want it saved for my daughter. If we were to get divorced, I don't want to lose what I worked so hard to build and have to start over yet again.

If neither of you has property, it's probably unnecessary. But if you do, it can be very important. In most states, property earned during marriage is either community property (half owned by each of you) or subject to equitable distribution by a court. Property you owned before marriage should be entirely yours. But the situation can easily get complicated--e.g., you owned the house before marriage, but paid the mortgage out of a joint checking account after marriage. Or he owned a business before marriage, and continued working at the business after marriage. A prenup means that your rights can be clarified in advance, so you don't ultimately have a big percentage of the assets going to lawyers to straighten things out. So it's not a way that one of you can keep assets from the other; it's a way that both of you benefit by not losing assets to legal fees.

And yes, I know you're not planning on getting divorced. No one is--and yet somehow, about 40% of the time, it happens. So planning just in case is never a bad idea. With luck, that prenup will never be used, but it's there if you need it.

FH & I do not plan to get a prenup! Though if you feel it’s necessary, then by all means you should do what you feel is right! What does FH think?

Unfortunately yes. We both have considerable debt (me 75%) but I also am the primary income earner. Plus he has a daughter and I want to make SURE that his crazy ex can’t come after me for child support and the like. We have talked about it and although we never plan on divorcing it will only protect us both if we do.

We’ll likely get one because we both have significant student debt (I have about $60k and she has almost $200k). My mom always told me to hope for the best and plan for the worst, so that’s what I intend to do.

I’m undecided. The only property I own is the house we live in (under my name). I have a good amount of savings and retirement for my age, more than fiancé but he has his savings and makes a lot more than me right now. I am thinking it’s not really needed.

I've been with my fiance for 6 years. We just recently got engaged. We bought our 1st home in 2016. My father passed away in 2018 and left me and my siblings an inheritance. We are not looking to buy our 2nd home. We each have 1 child but none together. We plan on getting a will in order so that our children are taken care of but we haven't decided on a prenup. There's no harm in consulting with a lawyer prior to deciding to do one. That's what we plan on doing before purc wedding in 2021 to see if it benefits us.

We won’t but I did make the offer to FH as he has significantly more assets than I.

I work in the legal field and I live in CA. Between my job and a friend, I have seen how nasty divorce can be. And while some people might look at a prenup as a bad thing, or not having faith in your relationship, there is a better way to look at it.

You live your future spouse so much that on the off chance something does go wrong, you are doing one thing that can stop them from hurting even more later.

I have seen couples who split up after losing a child. It is something you’d never dream of happening, but it can. And it can rip two people apart. Or a long term Illness can cause a rift-and sometimes it’s the sick one that wants to end things.

if you take care or as much legal stuff as possible ahead of time it can give a sense of peace. This includes making out wills, advanced health care directives and planning for guardianship of children.

Nobody likes to think of the worst things that can happen when you’re all new and shiny. But bad things happen every day. And while you can’t stop them or worry about them all the time, you can make a plan for the what if’s.

Thank you everyone so much so far. I think I will consult with a lawyer about one. My fiancé and I both still live at home with our parents. I am thinking about getting one just in case we get a divorce and that happens after our loved ones have passed away and we have our inheritance.

We are not planning on doing one. When my dad died, my mom put all of her assets into a “bloodline trust,” which means that the money/property I could potentially get is protected by the trust should something happen with my marriage. Since she has that in place (my Dad left her with a considerable amount of money that could have called for a prenup for us), and neither of us have any other big property that we don’t already own together, we’re forgoing one. It’s great when your parents take care of things without you even thinking about them 😉.

View Quoted Comment Definitely consult with a lawyer. But in most states an inheritance or trust is never spousal property. Having a consultation with a lawyer can help you figure out if it’s needed.

We are. Just in case. But more so because his mother asked him if he would get one and have me sign it; no idea why since she never signed one..

We didn't because neither of us have any assets as of now. However, if either of us owned a business or any property, then we may have considered it.

We definitely won't have one, but it also wouldn't make any sense to have one. Our only assets right now are our cars. If one of us had a considerable amount of property, family business, etc. I might consider it.

We never thought about one, but my cousin (our family owns a large ranch and his % stake he will inherit is much larger than mine) did one. I think it just depends on the assets you own or stand to inherit. We didn't think it was necessary for us just based on our current assets (we own a home together and own two cars together, so besides savings & 401ks that's it and our names are already on all those accounts together). Whatever we earn while we are married or inherit is communal property so it also depends on the laws in your state.

We are doing one because he is entering the marriage with a house he inherited from his mom who passed away and it has no mortgage or loan on it. Plus we both are in line to interhit land/money/assets from our grandparents separately.