The Prenup Trend

A lot of people tend to believe and follow exactly what the media portrays. Even if a lot of it is bull, and we even know it's bull, we still tend to look at life through this tunnel-vision of celebrities and news. What they show us on television and the internet must be what life is actually like.

Clearly, it's not. But when it comes to Prenuptial Agreements, it seems the fad is growing, no thanks the ever-volatile hollywood romance.

Hollywood celebrities are notorious for having quick, passionate, and often entertaining (for those watching) relationships that end in a financial disaster for one party. The term "Gold-Digger" comes to mind. Most of these celebrities have tons of money and estates that they were looking to keep, no matter how much they "love" their current fling, and that's why they sign prenuptial agreements.

You also see a lot of this in movies.

The truth of the matter is, in 2002, a mere 1% of marriages begin with a prenuptial agreement, even though currently 50% of marriages currently end in divorce. However, and while this may not seem like a significant rise, now 3% of marriages begin with the agreement. Between the disheartening divorce rate, and the images protrayed by promiscuous celebrities, of course it seems like a great idea to protect your assets.

If you have assets to protect.

A prenup can be a difficult thing to talk about when you're in the throes of love. Couples want to savor the bliss, not worry about the potential of a breakup one year, five years, or ten years down the line. Truly though, a prenup is only necessary if there are excessive inheritances, funds, or estates to be concerned about. Most normal couples happen to have an excess of debt, not money to be split up.

So before jumping on the bandwagon, and having a potentially mood-killing wedding-planning conversation, consider what exactly it is you are protecting from your spouse before you go telling them you don't want them in on it.