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It seems that more and more people are signing prenuptial agreements before they get married, in order to protect their money in case they get divorced. Women were hesitant to do it previously, but now are more likely to agree. Why do you think that is? Why is divorce so common as compared to the past? Do you think that by preparing for divorce through a prenuptial agreement, you are more likely to make it happen? Is there something unromantic or selfish about prenuptial agreements, or is it a rational choice given the spirit of the times? Do you think that they will become more common in Slovakia? In what circumstances would you consider signing one?
When the topic of prenuptial agreement comes up, many Slovaks imagine women getting married just for the spouse’s millions, and precautious businessman trying to avoid any financial loss that might be caused by getting a divorce. There used to be prejudice like that in the USA, too. It is a pleasant surprise though, that at least American women are starting to realize that signing a prenup is not something that people do only when they feel ambivalent about getting married. One can trust their partner completely, yet they might change, or something unexpected might come up and ruin the relationship. If it happens in about half of the marriages, it seems almost hazardous to me, not to sign a prenuptial agreement. Every penny you have should be put at stake only because you fell for someone’s blue eyes? Then the blue eyes stop going to work because they want to become an artist and you have to support them. And in the end, you lose half of everything you have. Of course, Slovak women heard of cases like this, but their prejudice is too strong to make a move and ask for a premarital or cohabitation agreement.
ReplyDeleteThese agreements are kind of assets insurance, and in my humble opinion they should be separated from the emotional side of relationships. It is pure economy. This world is a tough place, where no one gets anything for free, where people work hard to make money. If you can avoid losing them, why would you not do it? Stories of millions divorced women like Kristi show why it is so important to get rid of prejudice and sign that piece of paper. Otherwise, as soon as the relationship is over, who gets what depends only on the lawyers of both sides. Then the state decides everything, and people cannot control how it decides. In the court, former lovers change into enemies, into beasts that care only about the size of their prey. Kristi, the commenter from LoveShack.org and millions other people had to learn it the hard way. If you want to act smarter and avoid it, sign a prenup. It is a very shrewd decision.
I don’t see anything wrong about prenuptial agreements. I think it is good to protect your money and your property when marrying someone. If two people love each other then there is nothing wrong about prenups. I think marriages end much worse when people are fighting about money, houses, kids and alimony. If they agree on everything beforehand, then the split of these two people is difficult only from the emotional side. Otherwise, they would have to go to court and fight against each other. They would bring a lot of dirt on each other just so they can get few bucks. Moreover, their kids would experience a lot of emotional pain and might end up not being able to see one of their parents for the rest of their lives. And the end result is by far worse than just crying for few nights over your breakup.
ReplyDeleteI think there is a better way to protect your property than by having prenups. It is very important to get to know your partner and their family before you marry him or her, so you can avoid problems after the breakup. Take for example Kristi from the article. She married a young med student and then he got sick. She filled for a divorce and lost a lot of money. It wasn’t her partner who sued her for money, it was his family. Her partner might have been a good guy that would not ask for any compensation after the breakup, but she didn’t know his family really well. However, if she really loved him she could have stayed with him and help him with his disease. But anyway, if she didn’t cause his illness, then there is no way she should be supporting his life. As her partner is seriously sick, she might have supported him with a little amount of money but from the article it looks like she lost quite a lot of money. In my opinion, the family acted really selfish and took money from an “innocent” lady who did nothing but marry the guy. I say “innocent”, because we don’t really know what happened in this particular marriage.
I’m very fortunate to have parents that live happily together and do not care for money. They have no prenuptial agreement and everything they own, they have earned it together. As far as I know, they have lived together for more than two years before they have married each other. Vietnamese people consider marriage to be something very important. In Vietnam there are far less divorces than in the Western Europe due to the fact that people stay in marriage even though it is not working. Another reason is that Vietnamese people are generally poor. They do not own several cars, houses or six-figure bank accounts. All they own is one or two motorcycles and maybe a house they have inherited after their parents or grandparents. They know that if they stick together they might earn enough money for them to survive. However, if they breakup they won’t earn enough to feed themselves and their children.
I think prenuptial agreements are a great way to protect your property but it is more important to get to know your partner before you marry him. People should marry for love not for money.
Mai Nguyen Phuc