Prenuptial Agreement: Its impact on Marriage



Prenuptial agreement, also called a premarital agreement, is a pre-wedding agreement written in a legal document signed by the couple planning to get married. This agreement is done before the marriage ceremony in the presence of a lawyer. The document contains the wealth of each party, such as their properties and possessions owned before and even after the marriage. It also includes several provisions on how to divide their properties, and the manner of giving financial support in the event the couple plans to get a divorce or had a marriage breakup.

Courts in the past claimed that prenuptial agreements only discourage people to get married; however today, this agreement is already allowed in the belief that this could even facilitate the flow of marriage. Couples decide to sign prenuptial agreements mainly to secure their own wealth if ever their marriage failed.

What is usually ignored in prenuptial agreement is its impact on the marriage. The existence of this agreement will definitely lead to a divorce. Take the case of a newlywed couple where one is richer than the other, but both work hard to keep their marriage. If a prenuptial agreement exists between them and they suddenly get a divorce, one of them will definitely have a bigger wealth in which the other partner has no right to claim the same. The properties will be divided according to who has contributed a bigger share of the wealth. The couple is both blessed with the power of marriage, but equal rights on their possessions do not actually exist. These pressures will only ruin their efforts to live a happy marriage life.

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