What exactly are pre nups and why are they always shown to be a point of contention on couples?
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Here’s a basic problem – You have many couples where one partner is the “earner” and the other is the “non-earner”. If for whatever reason the couple divorces in 15 years the “earner” could potentially claim all the money, all the property, all the stuff because they “earned” it. The “non-earner” could essentially be left with absolutely nothing, like literally they are now homeless with the clothes on their backs. So over the years laws have been made that protect the “non-earner” and entitle them to a share of the money, property, stuff, etc. Typically it’s 50/50.
Now for certain people, let’s say the “earner” is super rich before they get married. They have a big career or family money or whatever and the “non-earner” is totally broke. They get married and it goes poorly and they get divorced within a year, now the “non-earner” is entitled to 50% of the “earners” pre-marriage wealth. Is that fair?
A “pre-nup” or Pre-nuptial (marriage) Agreement is a contract the stipulates *before marriage* how the wealth of the couple will be divided up should they divorce. It could say things like everyone keeps what they had before and split 50/50 whatever was earned during marriage, it could be very specific and detail all kinds of if/thans like if the divorce is due to cheating, if there are kids, if crimes are involved, if the couple splits before or after a certain duration. etc.
**A pre-nup is a contract that creates protections for “earners” against “non-earners” in the case a marriage fails, specifically in cases where the one partner generates or has a much greater wealth than the other.**
It’s a point of contention because the whole point of having one raises the taboo that a marriage has a risk of failure, that partners are not trustworthy, and that people are only interested in money.
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