Key Takeaways
- Prenups have evolved from niche tools for the wealthy to widespread use among younger couples.
- Millennials and Gen Z embrace prenups due to distrust in marriage and financial anxieties.
- Modern prenups increasingly include non-financial terms like social media and intimacy clauses.
- Accessible apps and tools are making prenuptial agreements more common and easier to obtain.
Deep Dive
- Historically, prenups were associated with the ultra-wealthy, as exemplified by a 'Seinfeld' plotline.
- There has been a significant shift in prenup acceptance, with younger couples increasingly embracing them.
- This trend is linked to the normalization of no-fault divorce and higher parental divorce rates among millennials.
- A 2023 Harris poll indicated that 21% of Americans had signed a prenup, a significant rise from 3% in 2010.
- Prenuptial agreements are extending beyond the wealthy to aspirational couples.
- Apps like Hello Prenup can generate agreements for under $600, boosting accessibility.
- The 'Fight Night' game helps couples discuss financial and personal values, from crypto ownership to child gender selection.
- Prenuptial agreements now include terms beyond just financial arrangements.
- Clauses on intimate issues, such as required frequency of sex or penalties for exceeding a certain body mass index, have emerged, though their enforceability is questioned.
- Social media non-disparagement clauses are popular among millennials and Gen Z, penalizing negative posts about an ex-partner.
- Prenups are addressing new issues like embryo custody and storage fees, given the rise of IVF and delayed childbearing.
- The reporter learned that even debt solely in one partner's name can be considered marital debt if the other partner benefits from it, such as a car loan.
- Millennials and Gen Z, who did not grow up with long-term marriages, distrust marriage more than previous generations, seeking prenups to privatize future anxieties.
- Having come of age during the Great Recession, millennials experience significant anxiety about the future, driving their desire for control through prenuptial agreements.