What is a “prenuptial agreement”?

Simply put, a prenup is a legal contract entered into before marriage that outlines how assets will be held during marriage and divided in the event of a divorce or death. While traditionally associated with the wealthy, prenups have become a practical choice for couples who want clarity and control over their financial futures.

You may already know that prenups help the consciously-uncoupled decide how to divvy up their assets, wealth, and debt during a split. But prenups can also help make other aspects of divorce easier, too. They can include certain lifestyle clauses that determine, for example, the custody of pets, or what happens in the event of infidelity. You can even include things like “goodwill clauses,” which have become more common in recent years. These clauses prevent a former spouse from trashing you publicly on social media or other forums.

Prenups have become increasingly popular as conversations about the importance of financial independence and security become more mainstream. In fact, the normalization of prenups in contemporary culture has a lot to do with the advent of the women’s liberation movement.

As women won greater and greater battles in the struggle for gender equality — like the right to divorce, work, vote, own property, and so on — they had so much more to lose entering (and leaving) marital relationships.

Later, the rise of dual-income households, the prevalence of late marriages, and the accumulation of pre-marital assets have made prenups a practical choice for more and more women than just the Real Housewives or Britney Spears.

That’s why we partnered with the good folks at HelloPrenup to give you a primer on prenuptial agreements — and help demystify a document that's unfairly maligned.