The benefits of signing a nuptial agreement
However many years you have been together, financial conversations can be difficult. Raising the subject of a nuptial agreement with your partner requires you to be sensitive, rational and honest. The good news is it can help you to build trust as a couple and can underpin your relationship. You can begin your future together by being open and honest about difficult subjects.
The benefits of signing a nuptial agreement are plentiful, enabling you to:
Start the discussion early about financial planning
If the financial discussion is broached as more of a general and broader conversation about your financial planning as a couple, this can help to pave the way for future constructive discussions. Taking this first step might feel awkward initially, but once this is out of the way it can be a positive step for you to take as a couple.
Benefit from an open dialogue from the outset
Starting such discussions can help you to confront important and often difficult money conversations early and therefore reducing the potential for fall-out later. The real benefit of a nuptial agreement is the up-front, honest communication couples can have about their intentions during marriage and beyond, focusing together on their financial arrangements and practical commitments.
Lay the foundations for a happy relationship
Creating a forum for an honest and open dialogue can enable couples to plan together from the outset when they are most in love and in tune with each other. Conversely, financial issues are often at the route of difficulties between couples, so a healthy discussion, before these complexities arise, can only be constructive. Such agreements can underpin a solid partnership; good communication is known to be a pillar of successful, happy relationships.
Provide a degree of certainty about your future
If you did separate in years to come, a nuptial agreement would aim to make the divorce process easier and the outcome more certain, without costly negotiations about finances. The very act of discussing and trying to come to an agreement will help to reveal what you have in common and where you are apart.
Promote autonomy and create a tailor-made document to suit your specific situation
A nuptial agreement can help to give couples the freedom to decide their future financial destiny rather than leaving that power to a judge in the family courts. It is a way for a couple to draw their own rules rather than relying on a default legal system which may or may not accommodate individual circumstances.
Tips on how to bring up the topic of nuptial agreements with your partner
The prospect of discussing a nuptial agreement with your partner may seem daunting but if approached in the right way it can form part of an open and honest conversation about your future together.
