II was recently talking with an acquaintance of mine when he mentioned that 2 of his friends were getting married. He mentioned that they had asked his advice on whether to get a prenup or not. He went on to say that she had 50K in student loans and he had about 50K in savings so since they had nothing at all why would they need a prenup?
First of all, this is not nothing at all. This is actually a lot. I know it’s not the millions we are used to hearing about when it comes to prenups but we are talking about normal people. And 50k whether debt or savings is substantial.
I proceed to tell the acquaintance that they are exactly the type of people that need a prenup. See my previous post, Middle Class People Need Prenups More than Rich People. I’ll recap it for you, people with just enough need a prenup more than anyone else. Look if you have 10 million dollars and lose half in a divorce, you still have 5 million dollars. You may need to readjust your lifestyle but you will be ok. If you have $50,000 and lose half in a divorce you are left with $25,000. You cannot get that back quickly enough to be ok. Therefore you should protect what you have.
What this couple doesn’t want is in the case of a divorce he could get stuck with her debt and she could get half of his savings. Now I’m sure that sounds good to her but I’m sure she is not looking to stick him with her debt, at least not now. As I always say people change when they are going through a divorce. So now, before the hurt feelings and vindictive nature kicks in, is the perfect time to discuss these issues and get a prenup.
In the future, if your friends ask your opinion on whether to get a prenup, send them to the Princess.
“I told my friends they didn’t need a prenup because all they have is debt and a little savings.”
