Sometimes we have to put a price on love
THEY say love is blind, but it can quickly turn into a serious eye-opener when a relationship hits the skids.
Prenuptial agreements can be a way to protect your financial rights and obligations, offer protection from debts and settle your property rights before you get married.
It can also help avoid a lengthy and painstaking divorce process.
But it can certainly be an awkward conversation to have with your other half before you tie the knot or shack up.
A new study by lender ME quizzed 1000 Australians in a relationship and found 74 per cent think prenups are fair, yet only 18 per cent of lovers have one.
One woman, 40, Olivia*, divorced in 2018 after 12 months of marriage and did not have a prenuptial agreement despite owning two properties and having significant savings.
She was in a much better position than her partner before the marriage.
“It crosses your mind to get a prenup but you see the best in them (your future partner) and the intent with marriage is for it to last forever,” Olivia said.
“Of course, I would have had one if I had my time again.”
The research found 47 per cent of couples think a prenup is inappropriate.
ME spokesman Matthew Read said couples should consider a prenup if they believe it gave them peace of mind about their financial situation.
“If you come to a relationship with a significant disparity in assets there’s nothing wrong with setting up an insurance policy to protect your financial situation,” he said.
“A prenup is not antirelationship. It’s only relevant when the relationship is over.”
Couples are also getting married later and likely to have more assets once they hook up.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data found that in 2017 the median age for marriage for males was 32 and women 30.1. This compares to 1997 when the median age for marriage for men was 29.7 and women was 27.5.
Tuskeen Jabobs, family lawyer at Rostron Carlyle Rojas, said often when she dealt with prenups it involved “a wealthy party and a nonwealthy party”.
“It’s quite rare that one party hasn’t been through a breakdown before and has had to go through lawyers to get a settlement or ultimately have to go to court,” she said.
“Both parties have to list all of their assets including bank accounts, superannuation; as well as liabilities such as credit cards, home loans, personal loans and ATO debts in a prenup.”
Ms Jacobs said big-ticket items such as jewellery should also be listed, and prenups should be done before entering marriage or once a relationship became serious.
*Not her real name. Sophie Elsworth is the national personal finance writer at News Corp.