Millennials are looking to prenups as their preferred way to protect separate property holdings, business interests, and to avoid potential alimony disputes. But it’s no coincidence.
According to a recent survey of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), 51% of the attorneys cited an increase in the number of Millennials requesting prenuptial agreements. Millennials in particular are looking to prenups as their preferred way to protect separate property holdings, business interests, and to avoid potential alimony disputes.
But it’s no coincidence that Millennials are breaking a generational record when it comes to getting prenups. There are some major social and economic factors that have led to this moment.
The average age of marriage for Millennials today is 27 for women and 29 for men, whereas in 1965 it was 21 and 23. Because they’re marrying later than previous generations, Millennials had the opportunity to accumulate more assets—which, of course, gives them more of a reason to consider a prenup. According to the AAML survey, the most common item covered in recent prenups was “protection of separate property”—which suggests that Millennials have property to protect in the first place.
Overall, Millennials have much more education than their grandparents did. But for many Millennials, higher education means more than getting a diploma: it means taking on student debt, and often a lot of it. Simply by waiting longer to marry, Millennials have had more time to accrue student debt (along with other kinds, like car loans, mortgages, and so on). If one spouse has significantly more debt than the other, a prenup can protect the debt-free spouse from being partially responsible for the other’s debt if the marriage ends in divorce.
Third, Millennials have had more exposure to divorce than any previous generation. According to a study by the PEW Research Center, 85% of Boomers were raised by both parents, compared to 62% of Millennials. This could explain why Millennials aren’t quite as quick to say “I do”—and why the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) reported that 51% of attorneys have cited an increase in the number of millennials requesting prenuptial agreements.
All in all, it makes sense why Millennials are particularly drawn to prenups—and also speaks to the generation’s forward-thinking nature and embrace of modern marriage.
