While most everyone thinks that their marriage will last forever, statistics suggest otherwise. Indeed, the American Psychological Association, along with a host of other organizations, has determined the divorce rate here in the U.S. consistently hovers around 40 to 50 percent.
In fact, the APA also indicates that the divorce rate is even higher for those entering into subsequent marriages. This is significant when you stop to consider that data from the U.S. Census Bureau has found that as many as one in five Americans will remarry and that people entering these subsequent marriages often have more financial exposure in the event of a divorce.
The reasons why these remarried couples have greater financial exposure can be attributed to the fact that they are often older, meaning they have accumulated more assets and/or are commanding a higher salary.
All this, of course, begs the question as to what remarrying couples can do to protect themselves.
Experts indicate that a prenuptial agreement can go a long way toward achieving this goal.
For those unfamiliar with a prenuptial agreement, it is essentially a legally binding agreement that spouses execute prior to their marriage outlining how they wish to handle everything from property division to alimony.
While the prospect of executing a prenuptial agreement may seem less than ideal, experts indicate that couples entering subsequent marriages are often receptive to the idea.
That’s largely because they perhaps have a more practical view of marriage after their prior experience, and realize that a prenuptial agreement will protect not only the assets they’ve worked so hard to build over the years, but also help ensure these assets go to their children and grandchildren.
Indeed, experts state that many couples in these situations end up executing prenuptial agreements calling for each side to simply keep everything they brought into the marriage in the event of a divorce.
Given the stakes involved, it’s important to consider speaking with an experienced legal professional in the event you are now actively considering exiting a subsequent marriage and no prenuptial agreement was executed.
