A prenuptial agreement is a bit like an insurance policy that protects you and your future spouse in the event of a divorce. However, misunderstandings about prenuptial agreements have created a stigma around them that gives rise to many myths.
As in Part 1, Insider provides the truth behind common prenuptial agreement myths.
A prenuptial agreement is inflexible
If you are the advantaged spouse, you cannot give your partner any less than what the prenup specifies. However, you can choose to give more, and it will not invalidate the agreement. In that respect, a prenup is flexible.
A prenuptial agreement dooms the marriage to failure
In a poll of mental health experts, 86% said that a prenup has no predictable impact on the success or failure of the marriage. Though empirical research has yet to back up the hypothesis, it is at least possible that a prenup could actually set the relationship on firmer footing because both you and your future spouse know where you stand financially.
You do not need a prenup if you are not wealthy
There are many ways that you could benefit from a prenuptial agreement even if you or your future spouse are not rich. For example, maybe you have a pet that you had before the marriage. A prenuptial agreement could ensure that your pet stays with you in the event of your divorce.
You can put anything in a prenuptial agreement
The court can disregard any provisions in your prenup that it considers unreasonable. Unenforceable provisions could invalidate the entire agreement. As a specific example, you cannot include a provision in your prenup that you do not have to pay child support in the event that you have children; a judge would never enforce that. In fact, you should not put any provisions regarding child support or custody in a prenuptial agreement because the court has to decide those things based on the child’s interest.
A prenuptial agreement is a plan for if something catastrophic happens in your marriage. This could include divorce, but this is only one possible scenario.