Meeting as undergrads at Boston University a little over decade ago, 30-year-olds Jenna Bhaloo and Neil Desai have been a couple since 2013. Together, they lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Durham, North Carolina, before moving to their current home of Chicago.
The pair got married in 2023, and while they have been making some joint financial decisions since they started living together in 2019, they're still figuring out the best way to manage their assets as a couple.
One money move on their to-do list: getting a postnuptial agreement.
Similar to prenuptial agreements, a postnup outlines which partner maintains ownership over which assets in the event of a divorce. The main difference is that with a postnup, you're already married when you get it, which has a couple of important implications.
Any assets acquired since the wedding, and even some acquired as an individual, such as retirement accounts, become "marital property" once you're married. That means if you wind up getting divorced, assets you may have thought were totally yours could be split between you and your spouse.
Both prenups and postnups can be difficult to enforce, but postnups tend to be a little trickier, according to SmartAsset. Since couples are already legally bound to one another when they create a postnup, there's an increased chance that one partner may have been coerced, which can make a court skeptical about upholding the agreement.
While Bhaloo and Desai hope they never have to use a postnup or go through a divorce, they see the benefits of having one just in case.
The couple had a "misconception" that prenup and postnup agreements are for couples with vastly different net worths, Bhaloo says. But upon further research, she realized postnups can be practical tools that give any couple full discretion over who gets what if they ever end their marriage.
"For us, it's really important to make sure that we are set up well, if something like [divorce] were ever to occur," Bhaloo says. "We want to control how our assets get divided in that scenario. We don't want to leave that up to the government — we don't want some random judge making that decision for us."
Should every couple get a prenup or postnup?
While prenups used to be seen as something for the rich and famous, they can be a good idea for any couple who wants to retain agency over their assets in the event of a separation. And if you didn't get an agreement before you got married, a postnup can be equally smart.
"You hear so many horror stories of people going through divorces — and I'm not saying we'd ever go through divorce, but who knows — and the woman is always left with nothing," Bhaloo says, highlighting the fact that historically, divorce has had a significantly worse impact on women's finances than men's.
That happens for a number of reasons. Since men statistically earn more than women and have higher net worths, women's household income tends to take a bigger hit — dropping by 41% on average, according to a Government Accountability Office study. Men's household income falls by an average of just 23% following a divorce, the study found.
A prenup or postnup may not necessarily mean you're guaranteed to come out on top, financially, in a divorce. But it does mean that you actually get a say. Without one, you may have to leave it up to a judge to decide who gets what.
"I just want to make sure that both of us have enough to be able to carry on if we need to in the worst-case scenario," Bhaloo says.
When asked if she recommends every couple get a prenup, "I'm not a no," Sallie Krawcheck, co-founder and CEO of investing platform Ellevest, tells CNBC Make It. "I may not be a 'yes,' but I'm not a 'no.'"
Ultimately, it's up to you to decide if a prenup or postnup makes sense for your situation, but Krawcheck says, "it can't hurt." Not only do you get to outline your wishes for your finances in the event of a divorce, but just asking for a prenup can reveal important truths about your relationship.
"The stress that comes from the request [to get a prenup] can be a very healthy stress because it's forcing you to talk about money when so many couples do not," she says. "It really can be sort of a stress test on the marriage. It brings out these deep and important conversations that otherwise get buried."
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