Millennials Embrace Prenups—but Through a Very Different Lens Than in the Past

Prior to the millennial takeover, prenups usually came up with young adults from wealthy families or couples entering marriages after a prior divorce(s). Now young adults of all income levels are using them for reasons apart from protecting accumulated assets. Due to the modern societal realities, there are more reasons to use prenuptial agreements. For example, the desire to keep debts separate, social-media use, embryo ownership, pet care and more. 

According to experts, one reason for the increase in use of prenups with millennial may be the fact that many of them are children of divorced parents and have seen the financial impact divorce carries. Further, the conversations surrounding money and finances before marriage is not nearly as uncomfortable or dreadful as it once was. 

Jacqueline Harounian, a partner with the law firm Wisselman, Harounian & Associates, stated, “You’re effectively negotiating your divorce agreement in advance in a way that’s more egalitarian than before.”

Some couples may use prenups to maintain separation of their finances in order to circumvent state laws that would combine their assets into marital property. Millennial also use prenups to address alimony provisions and debt issues. 

See Cheryl Winokur Munk, Millennials Embrace Prenups—but Through a Very Different Lens Than in the Past, Wall Street Journal, January 21, 2021. 

Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.