by Brigid Bishop

Created on: November 18, 2009

Stipulating that a Prenuptial Agreement is necessary prior to any and all couples marrying is an excellent idea. Any and all marriages are at risk of ending in divorce, and ensuring that all married entities complete and agree to a Prenuptial Agreement prior to launching their marriage would certainly do well to reduce long and lengthy divorce proceedings, reduce attorney fees and take a load off of our already over-burdened family court system.

Agreeing at the time of union as to how any assets will be distributed should the marriage fail is a wise and proactive measure.

By making the agreement "Compulsory", it alleviates any awkwardness or discomfort that either of the parties to the marriage may feel in requesting a prenuptial in the first place, it becomes part of the process.

As every attorney, and many divorced parties understand, there is no such thing as an "ironclad" prenuptial agreement. There is always room for negotiation and renegotiation, as with any contractual agreement, so as the economic circumstances of the marriage change over time, so can the prenuptial agreement be adjusted or modified. Even if the agreement remains in tact throughout the marriage, it still can serve to protect the rights of both parties and to ensure an equitable distribution of the assets as the agreement will be reached while both parties are actively "in love" and likely to feel generous and cooperative with each other, which is not so when dealing with a divorce with no predefined distribution of wealth.

Arrangements for custody of any children produced by the marriage can be included in the prenuptial agreement, and again, will reduce the likelihood of custody battles and lighten the burden on family court yet again, saving tax payers time and money.

Instituting a prerequisite for a prenuptial agreement will also likely reduce the divorce rate of those who would venture into the waters of marital bliss as they would be very well aware of what they are likely to lose should they fail to nurture their marriage, and for any reason, choose to dissolve it.

I am totally supportive of the idea of making a prenuptial agreement part of the standard process of marriage and believe that it would be a sound and logical part of the marriage process. Couples would take marriage much more seriously once they were committed to a contract which not only bound them together legally (the marriage), but defined what their economic and familial circumstances would be should they choose to end their marriage (the Prenuptial Agreement).

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