You knew that you wanted to use a prenuptial agreement before you even met your significant other. You weren’t dating anyone and had no plans to get married. If you did, though, you knew that a prenup made sense as a way to protect your assets.
Fast forward a few years and you’ve now met your significant other and gotten engaged. As soon as you decided to get married, you brought up the prenup, telling them you wanted to use one. To your surprise, they told you they weren’t going to sign a prenup. Now what?
First off, you may want to explain how a prenup can help both of you. Maybe you have a lot more debt than your significant other. You took it on to go to school and to start a business. You only expect your debt to increase. The prenup can insulate your partner from that debt, as well as protecting you from their debt. This doesn’t have to be one-sided.
You can also explain why you want one. Point out that you’re not planning to get divorced. You’re just playing it safe because you have seen the statistics and you know that marriage does end. You want to be ready, though you certainly hope you won’t ever need it.
If they still won’t sign, then you simply have to decide where you stand. A prenup must be voluntarily signed by both parties, after all. If they refuse, are you willing to get married without the document? Or does this mean that you want to call the marriage off in advance? It’s all up to you. Just make sure you know what legal steps to take, no matter how this goes.
