Prenups are up – particularly among women

An 80-year-old woman approached attorney Brad Wiewel because she wanted a prenuptial agreement before her second marriage — just in case. Mr. Wiewel discovered that her beau had a number of financial secrets, including 3 years’ worth of debt with the Internal Revenue Service. He paid off the debts, and they signed the prenup before marrying. “They were so in love, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other,” said Mr. Wiewel, an attorney with The Wiewel Law Firm. “But in the back of her mind, she had a feeling that something wasn’t right, and that’s why she wanted a prenuptial agreement.” More women of all ages are demanding prenuptial agreements, Mr. Wiewel said. In addition to protecting assets, the prenups play a valuable role in guarding one person from the other person’s debts. Indeed, as the economy has soured, women are increasingly shielding themselves against their future spouse’s debt. “In this economy, a woman doesn’t want to marry someone and find out there’s a lien on the house or there’s $150,000 in student loans,” said Arlene Dubin, a partner at Moses & Singer LLP and the author of “Prenups for Lovers” (Villard Books, 2001). “You really can’t go blindly into marriage. And if the woman is working and has a lot of assets, she wants to make sure her nest egg is protected.” Women are increasingly initiating prenuptial agreements. In fact, 52% of divorce attorneys surveyed this month said they’ve seen an increase in the initiation of prenuptial agreements by women in the past five years. The poll — of 1,600 attorneys — was conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. In general, prenuptial agreements are on the rise. Fueled of late by the poor economy, the number of premarital contracts has risen by 73% over the past five years, the study showed. Not surprisingly, attorneys have also noticed a 36% increase in retirement assets’ and pension assets’ being included in prenuptial agreements over the past five years. “People who have already lost a big chunk of their nest egg want to make sure it will be protected,” Ms. Dubin said. “The fact that people are seeing their 401(k) drop has really contributed to an increase in the number of prenuptial agreements.” It only makes sense that people want to protect their retirement assets particularly now, agrees Marlene Eskind Moses, president of the AAML and an attorney with Moses Townsend & Russ PLLC. “They want to make sure these retirement assets won’t take another hit,” Ms. Eskind Moses said. Advisers and attorneys said they’re pointing to the poor economy as a reason for clients to sign a prenuptial agreement. Said Tim Wesling, president of Wesling Financial Planning Services Corp., which manages nearly $20 million in assets: “I’m suggesting to anybody who has anything at all to protect what they can — especially now.” Shop Talk is a regular column detailing how financial advisers run their businesses. The column focuses on unusual or innovative ways to attract more clients. Suggestions or tips for Shop Talk? E-mail Lisa Shidler at lshidler@investmentnews.com or visit the Shop Talk page at InvestmentNews.com/shoptalk.