Til Death Do Us Part....

Today, I got a BBM asking my views on pre-nups.  It came from one of my friends with whom I attended law school.

So lets first speak on the legal ramifications of pre-nups.  Pre-nuptial Agreements are separation agreements/marital contracts that are created in anticipation of a marriage.  It deals with the marital property in the event of a divorce.  It may also speak to alimony, child custody and child support.  What many outside of the legal world fail to realize is that, a pre-nup may end up being disregarded by the court upon divorce in certain situations.  For instance, if the pre-nup says no alimony, however as a result of the divorce, the dependent spouse will become dependent upon the state (welfare, etc), then the court will mostly like enforce alimony.

Now for me, I joke quite often saying I want a pre-nup, but truly, I struggle with the idea because I feel like it is an action of anticipating divorce.  Why enter into a marriage, which is suppose to last until death, anticipating its demise before death.  I understand that divorce is becoming more and more prominent.  Also, I realize that there are many people out there that marry for the wrong reasons, such as money, instead of love.  However, I feel that if you truly know the person, then you will know that and see that in their personality before you walk down the aisle; and hopefully, that will prevent you from going any further.

I do understand that it is a way to protect your money and all that you spent time investing in and working hard for to afford.  I understand that people with higher salaries are the ones who use it more.  However, like I said before, if you feel the need to protect your money from the person you are suppose to be spending the rest of your life with then why in the hell are you marrying them?  Are they the person for you if you have to protect your assets from them?  Furthermore, if you are so worried about someone of a lesser degree (don't necessarily mean educational degree) taking what you have then have standards and marry someone whom you feel is on your level or close to you.  For instance, I know that having a JD/ESQ can mean having a higher salary than others.  However, I do not need a person to meet my salary.  At the same time, I don't think $20,000 can do it for me either.  Just show me that you are doing something with your life, and that you want better for yourself, and me and you can work!

So basically, I will not necessarily be offended if I am asked to sign a pre-nup (but that man better believe that my JD having azz will scrutinize the hell out of that document); and, I doubt that I will be the one bringing forth the pre-nup!