If you are engaged to be married, chances are you are either reluctant to enter into a pre-nuptial agreement or you are reluctant to discuss the topic with your future spouse. Most people believe at the outset that their marriage will last a lifetime. The unfortunate reality is that more than one half of all marriages in North America end in divorce.
Divorce is one of the most stressful events in a person s life.
It is extremely difficult to make decisions at such a time, especially decisions which may affect you for many years in the future. A better time to negotiate what happens in the event of marriage breakdown is when both you and your future spouse are thinking rationally. It is obviously difficult to consider the end of your marriage before it has begun. However, if the unthinkable happens, taking this difficult step before marriage may well save you thousands of dollars in legal fees and almost certainly will help alleviate the emotional distress which accompanies separation and divorce. Issues which are dealt with in a pre-nuptial agreement typically include division of assets, spousal support, and the financial contribution of the spouses to the household.