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Signing a pre-nup: is it worth it?

Senior Partner Marilyn Stowe has been quoted by AOL.com in an article looking at pre-nuptial agreements.

The article examines a case in which a bride in New York cancelled her wedding two months before the arranged date when asked by her fiancé to sign a prenuptial agreement. Instead, she held a party for “needy children”.

She said:

“I don’t want to sign things I don’t feel comfortable with.”

Unable to cancel the wedding reception on Park Avenue after putting down an $8,000 deposit, she altered the guest list and worked with the Salvation Army and a local charity to 60 underprivileged children.

The would-be bride said:

“I cannot be the princess of my wedding day, but I can give the kids a fairy tale.”

With around half of marriages ending in divorce, pre-nups have become increasingly popular. According to a recent survey highlighted in the article, more than half of those aged 18 – 21 would consider having the legal documents drawn up.

However, in the UK, prenuptial agreements are not a legally binding arrangement and in most cases judges will place a higher focus on meeting the needs of each spouse. It is only in the divorce proceedings involving the very wealthy when the pre-nups are usually taken into consideration.

Marilyn suggested that she is not an advocate of the agreement and would never sign the document.

She said:

“Pre-nups can actually damage the health of a marriage”.

Mrs Stowe suggestion that pre-nups can cause people to feel trapped in a relationship, especially younger couples. This is often the case when one of the parties or their family’s wealth is significantly greater than their partner’s.

On the other hand, the agreement can cause for the wealthier party to feel as though they have “carte blanche” to do whatever they want.

Read the full article.

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