Should a Pre-nup be a legal requirement before marriage?

I don’t see anything wrong with it. But will there be minimum terms? Or regulations of the pre-nups to ensure fairness?

Also, I think your guy is totally wrong about women and men. I do not think that women are up on divorce law at all.

@marinelife On reflection, I agree with you. I took that part out. It is not necessary to the question.

On the one hand, it’s one more government regulation butting its nose into peoples’ private business (surprised to hear that complaint from someone more liberal-minded than conservative-minded, eh?).

On the other hand, we have laws that protect women’s rights (and rightfully so), so its about time that we get some laws to protect men’s rights…

Though, personally, I’d make a woman sign a slave contract rather than some wimpy pre-nup :-p

I don’t really think they need to be mandatory. People already have to option get one if they want one. Why force those who don’t want one to get one?

If the marriage is a business relationship, then yes. I’ve been married for almost 25 years to a man I would take a bullet for. So, I guess I feel that when you see a marriage as something of an arrangement with a built-in escape hatch-maybe marriage isn’t the route to take.

Yes, it should, in my opinion.

Tell me how this would benefit me and my husband. We were both 21 when we married, living at my parents house. We were both broke. Twenty years later and we are still broke, lost our home to foreclosure a year ago and are now happily renting a home. Why should we be forced to have a pre-nup? We’re a team in our marriage. Not everyone has tons of money they need to keep from a spouse who may leave them in the future.

This should not be mandatory.

@jonsblond I agree. There are too many attorneys in the mix, and not enough people ready to weather the bad with the good. My son came to me, a couple of weeks ago, that he knows what marriage is all about due to us. We’re a team. A pre-nup would not secure that. I told my husband a long time ago, I’d live in a refrigerator box if that made us happy. He knows who has his back.

@jonsblond Good point, but one of you could win the lottery or something. It’s just an example, though. I agree not everyone needs one of course.

Do you think pre-nups are iron clad? Of course they aren’t.

I think more useful than a mandatory pre-nup would be a mandatory class on what community property means and the property consequences of both marriage and divorce.

I don’t think divorce lawyers would object to mandatory pre-nups, they’d be the same folks getting more business upfront drawing up the mandatory pre-nups and they’d be dealing with people in a better mood than divorcees.

I agree @dabbler. Lawyers would see an increase in business.

@dabbler-well put, well said!

I like @dabbler train of thought. I have said before we sign the marriage contract without reading it. Most people, especially young people, don’t have any clue how marriage and divorce for that matter affects a couple financially. The civil marriage basically is all about money and property. A short class about marriage laws would be a good idea probably, but it also might scare a lot of people out of getting married so fast. Lol.

I think that new law that was proposed or passed, not sure which, in Mexico regarding a trial marriage for a year (or was it two years? Man, my memory is failing me) involved also stating in the paperwork how things would be divided up should the couple allow the marriage to dissolve.

Wealthy people get pre-nups all the time. They come into the relationship with money, they are very savvy about laws and wealth, and so it is perfectly normal in their realm. People with very little don’t really have much use for a pre-nup, there is nothing to protect, as @jonsblond pointed out.

It shouldn’t be mandatory.

I think it’s a good idea.

I think it’s good planning. In olden times then there was no pre nup but there were family agreements of securities for both brides and grooms and things to forfeit back if the marriage was broken.

(I am not a lawyer, I am not your lawyer).

No.

Unless significantly large amounts of money or assets are involved (which can make things get a little strange).

In the average case if one demands a prenup the other might want to consider if they are marrying the right person.

Marriage should happen between two people that possess a certain level of maturity. They should also consider themselves equals before and after the wedding day.

All aspects of finance are equally the responsibility of both partners. Both parties should sit down together and hash out the bills like any other aspect of a partnership.

Perhaps more importantly: People should act like grownups and take responsibility so the Almighty State doesn’t have an excuse to force citizens to act with yet another fucking law.