Rise in Number of Prenuptial Agreements

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in DuPage County divorce lawyer

No one likes to think about divorce at the beginning of a marriage. Traditionally, prenuptial agreements have been thought to be important among the very rich or the very flaky, but not necessarily relevant for the average American couple. With divorce rates staying high at about 50 percent, this is changing. “According to a new survey of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML),” and as reported by the Huffington Post, “63 percent of divorce attorneys say they’ve seen an increase in prenuptial agreements during the past three years.” There’s a growing sense in the U.S. that marriage is as much a business arrangement as it is one for love—with the debate around same-sex marriage, financial perks (such as tax breaks) are often brought up as an objective reason for marriage equality. This same feeling could be responsible for the rise in the number of prenuptial agreements.

Alton Abramowitz, president of the AAML, told the Huffington Post that this idea of marriage as a business arrangement could be directly related to the economy. “As the financial and real estate markets continue to improve, there is a greater awareness of risk to possibly sharing these gains in a divorce,” he said. According to a survey conducted by the AAML, lawyers said that the top three items covered in most prenups include “the protection of separate property, alimony/spousal maintenance, and division of property.”

While prenuptial stereotypically initiated by men more often than women, the new research also showed that women are largely responsible for the growth in number of prenuptial agreements. Nearly 50 percent of lawyer polled “noted an increase in the number of women initiating requests for prenups,” according to the Huffington Post.

The New York Daily News speculates that one reason for the rise in prenups could be because “as more people remarry later in life, they’re looking to protect their assets.” Whatever you reason for obtaining a prenup, the most important step is to develop it with the assistance of a qualified family law attorney. If you or someone you know is considering divorce—with or without a prenup—contact the Law Office of Matthew M. Williams today.