Indiana

Who should get a prenup? The easiest way to answer that question is to explain who should NOT get a prenup. If you have no assets, don't anticipate high earnings or a significant inheritance, and intend for your marriage to be a true partnership where all income and assets are split equally, then you may not need a prenup. Also, if you spend what you make, then there is nothing to discuss. However, it is important to consider that all marriages end. They end by either death or divorce. Would you rather make the decision about how your assets will be split yourselves under these circumstances or have the state decide?

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Are prenups more necessary in 2nd marriages or if there are previous children? Yes! Prenups offer a wonderful benefit to spouses with children from previous relationships by avoiding a later disagreement in court. Prenups could separate assets owned before the marriage and define how they are to be distributed in the event of an untimely death. Without a prenup, a surviving spouse could claim the assets previously owned by the deceased as "community property," claim ownership of 50%, and most likely end up in probate court in conflict with the children from the prior relationship.

I'll be honest ... I once had an ex-boyfriend who gave me months (yes ... months!) of grief over a cell phone bill. I can't even imagine how difficult a divorce could be. I've always been in favor of prenups for the simple reason that breakups of any kind are usually messy and, with today's divorce rates, it would be foolish to believe that a divorce could "never happen to me." The most important piece of advice I learned during my conversation with the family law attorney is that it is best to have these discussions before the marriage. Both parties should consider all of the possibilities that prenups prepare for. Make a joint decision about how to handle these possibilities and then decide whether or not to get a prenup. Making these decisions while you are in love has to be more pleasant (and a whole lot less expensive) than discussing them during a divorce, but it's still never easy.