Binding Financial Agreements, sometimes called ‘pre-nups’, are agreements made by couples either before, during the relationship or after separation. They are a way to document your financial settlement, in the event of separation.
Understanding more about what might happen if you separate is smart.
Exploring your circumstances to support you to make some big decisions about how your assets will be shared if you and your partner separate will help your relationship actually last.
I know pre nups are not romantic and I understand the impact that a conversation like that can have on a happy relationship. However, without it, you and your spouse might feel a sense of uncertainty, worry or even fear about moving forward with your financial lives together. Those feelings can turn to resentment, mistrust and anger; all the things that make a good relationship go bad.
Dealing with it all early, when you are both in a good place in your relationship and can have sensible, robust and transparent conversations about what might happen if you separate, the worry goes away and you can focus on enjoying all the good parts of your relationship.
There are so many reasons why you might need protection, whether it be your own wealth or that of your families’ that you have either inherited or been given, or even future interests in businesses wealth or assets that are still to come.
All of it is at risk if you own assets in your name, have any degree of control over entities (trusts, companies etc), or have an equitable interest in anything. It doesn’t matter whether your spouse contributed to that wealth or not.
This is especially hard to deal with when the majority of assets come from family money that your spouse had nothing to do with.
Most people know they need to have one, actually want to get it done but have trouble having that tough conversation.
It’s about having tough conversations in a respectful way that lets you focus on your relationship. Being supported via a staged pathway, with tools to help you talk to your spouse about these issues with empathy, means you can both creatively plan the future with confidence.
It’s all in the careful and considerate way you approach the delicate conversation.
It is all about how you communicate and share what is important to you and why.
It is about getting your partner to understand that you are not uncertain about the relationship, but you care enough to help protect it from failing.
In documents like this, you can plan as much or as little as you want. You decide how to spend, what to save, where to put future earnings, how to hold future assets and you control what is happening with your money. You take the control out of the hands of the law and make decisions now for your future.
So, for a successful negotiation of an agreement. Some final tips.
Remember, it is all about how you communicate and share what is meaningful to you and why. Because it isn’t just about the money, it is about the impact these discussions may have on you down the road.
Be clear to your partner that this is not because you have any uncertainties in the relationship, but instead that you care so much about your relationship with them that you want to do anything you can to help protect it from failing.
This conversation is about getting your partner to see the positive impact it could have on the relationship, not the negative.
Work out the best way to handle the delicate conversation, plan the negotiation and draw up a document that works.
It’s not unromantic. Careful planning leads to a strong and secure relationship.
Trust us, we’ve got this.