To have and to hold on to

With more than one in seven people saying that they would consider marrying purely for money, new research reveals that over half of unmarried people (56 per cent) would consider signing a pre-nuptial agreement before getting married, in contrast to over nine in ten (92 per cent) people who have every been married who admit that it ‘didn’t even occur to them’.

The research, released by Scottish Widows, indicates that the taboo around pre-nuptial agreements is changing. Only one per cent of people surveyed who have ever been married actually signed a pre-nuptial agreement, whereas three per cent said they had ‘thought about it but didn’t bring it up’ and an equal number ‘discussed it but decided against it’.

In contrast, just over one in ten unmarried people (12 per cent) would consider a pre-nuptial agreement as a way of ‘securing financial independence’, while 16 per cent would see it as a way of ‘making sure finances were split fairly’. Five per cent admitted that it would be a way of ‘making sure their less wealthy partner didn’t take their money’, and only 12 per cent of unmarried people said they wouldn’t consider it because they considered it ‘unromantic’.

Of those who did not sign a pre-nuptial agreement when they married, four per cent would sign one if they could turn the clock back (that’s approximately one million people in GB) and eight per cent (approx two million) would now consider it.

Significantly, with figures from the Office for National Statistics now stating that nearly half of all marriages will end in divorce, after learning this 43 per cent surveyed by Scottish Widows believe that a pre-nuptial agreement should at least be discussed before a wedding takes place, and just over a third think it should not be brought up at all.

Mike Hoban, Brand and Marketing Director for Scottish Widows, says: “The tide is changing very quickly when it comes to love and finance: couples who are already married didn’t even think about signing an agreement to protect themselves financially, whereas the majority of people would now at least consider it.

“It’s a good idea to at least talk about money issues so that there are no nasty surprises waiting for you further down the road. Preparing now for any pitfalls can make a big difference in the future and being practical about money doesn’t necessarily have to be ‘unromantic’. It can mean more trust in the long-term.”