It is often said that marriages fail because, at the financial level, the partners ignore that like any relationship, it's also a business. Businesses often benefit from financial planning - and marriages are no different. In an era of increasing divorce rates, second marriages, and relationships where the parties bring in substantial assets, it makes good sense to plan for not just for the good times, but also the not so good.
That's why increasingly people are turning to financial agreements not just because they think the relationship will not work, but if it doesn't, the parties can extricate themselves with a minimum of financial pain and with dignity.
Financial agreements require complete disclosure of the parties' respective financial and asset positions, and independent legal advice. They can also assist where a relationship has broken down, and the parties want to avoid the stress of legal proceedings. Like any aspect of planning for the future, they're worth thinking about.
The agreements don't have to be done before the parties marry, they can be entered into afterwards, and be just as legally effective. Properly drawn, they can provide solutions in advance to questions of the maintenance of either or both parties after separation; the way in which assets and money are dealt with after separation, and other issues.
They can be relatively simply, or complex, depending on your circumstances.