Millennials are proving to be pragmatic in some instances where their parents were more starry-eyed romantics. For one, many delay marrying until they are well north of their 30th birthdays, so they have likely launched careers and accrued assets and separately-owned resources. Some already are property or business owners when they walk down the aisle.
According to some financial advisers, this makes millennials protective of their hard-owned assets. They tend to welcome the notion of signing prenuptial agreements, whereas the previous generation found them cynical, unromantic and a dismal start to a marriage.
If both parties are equally invested in preserving their separate assets, there should not be any hurt feelings or uncomfortable conversations regarding drafting a prenup that protects both individuals’ separately-owned property. This is especially important in a community property state like Arizona.
With that in mind, it should be mentioned that certain portions of separately-owned assets can be converted to community property under certain circumstances. One of those is if the personal asset is liquid (cash) and gets commingled with communally-owned funds.
Another could be the proceeds from a separately-owned business that gets invested in jointly-owned property for the couple. Having a prenup may not exclude all converted funds from joint ownership, but it helps to delineate what was owned by whom before the marriage took place.
If wedding bells are in your future, make sure that you take the steps you need to protect your assets. You will want to prepare and sign the prenuptial agreement well ahead of your wedding so that there is no hint of coercion to cloud the clarity of both of your intentions.
Source: The Washington Post, “Why you’re more likely to have a prenup than your parents were,” Jonnelle Marte, Sep. 04, 2017