The Tough Money Conversations: Pre-Nup Chat
BOSTON (CBS) - Are they just for the wealthy or Hollywood types like Seal and Heidi Klum? No!
So who needs a pre-nup agreement? According to Bankrate.com, you should consider having a pre-nup if you fall into any of the following categories:
• You have assets such as a home, stock or retirement funds
• Own all or part of a business
• You may be receiving an inheritance
• You have children and/or grandchildren from a previous marriage
• One of you is much wealthier than the other
• One of you will be supporting the other through college
• You have loved ones who need to be taken care of, such as elderly parents
• You have or are pursuing a degree or license in a potentially lucrative profession such as medicine
• You could see a big increase in income because your business is taking off, or that garage band you play in has just gotten a contract with a big record company
If you are not going to get a pre-nup, at the very least start the money talk. Do you have the same money values? The same spending habits? Do you want to keep your money separate?
Paul McCartney, despite being burned the second time around, headed into his third marriage without an agreement. That is financial suicide!
Today people are getting married later in life and because of that they are coming into marriage with assets, problems, and two sets of pots and pans.
When one of you has considerably more money than the other, is protecting it for your children from a previous marriage important? Do your adult children think it is important? Are they concerned about their inheritance? Do they think he wants to marry you because their dad left you a half a million ($500,000) in life insurance proceeds?
A pre-nup agreement and good estate planning is a way to protect your assets for your children if something should happen to you. With a second marriage you might want to consider setting up individual living trusts and have your children as the beneficiaries of the trust so you are protecting what you brought into the marriage.
So have that money conversation before you exchange keys! This does not necessarily mean that there has to be a pre-nup agreement but an honest chat about the finances and values are in order.
