Partners contemplating marriage in Florida and entering the union with one or both of them having significant assets — an already thriving business, perhaps; real estate; an inheritance — might more profitably exchange footwear than rings.
In other words, walk a mile in the other’s shoes. That is a bit tongue-in-cheek, to be sure, but it does bring up the concept of empathy and learning to see and appreciate what your partner is thinking about and valuing as the wedding date approaches.
A recent media piece addresses that need, especially — and again — where significant assets are coming into a marriage. A bottom line takeaway to think about: It can certainly be less prudent and protective of personal interests to simply ignore assets that have been built up over time than to candidly discuss them and in good faith bring up the idea of a prenuptial agreement.
Such agreements have been discussed before in this blog, and a major media story always seems to surface with regularity to once again underscore their meaning and relevance in many partnerships.
Most recently, that media article centered on business titan Robert Murdoch and his wife, with their divorce filing having just been announced. Where a successful business features — and, candidly, that can mean something far less significant than Murdoch’s sprawling holdings — talk of a marital contract is often logically attached.
Many family law commentators strongly recommend that such always be the case, because a prenuptial agreement — when brought up early, discussed with candor and sensitivity on both sides, and fully vetted with assistance from a trained mediator who is, preferably, also a proven attorney — has far more upside than downside potential.
Most importantly, discussing one can help a couple increase honesty in a marriage by opening up about what is important and why, and executing such an agreement can give that couple a great sense of control over their financial affairs and other things that are important to them.
Source: Entrepreneur, “How to ask your partner for a prenup,” Nadia Goodman, june 19, 2013