Expect the marriage to fail? Maybe not.
But anticipate the marriage may fail? Yes; otherwise they wouldn’t plan ahead for its failure. Now don’t get me wrong. No venture, marriage or otherwise, is guaranteed to succeed or fail. And for some ventures, it is sensible and prudent to have an exit strategy and/or a contingency plan in the event a particularly risky venture goes sour. But there are other ventures, marriage being the prime example, that require one’s full and unconditional commitment if they are to have the best opportunities for success. Marriage is intended to be a lifelong venture.
It is impossible to have faith that your marriage will be for life, for better or for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, if you know that you and your spouse have already made plans for what happens in the event of its demise. Some ventures, marriage being the best example, are truly “burn your ships” propositions, so that you are not tempted to quit, to take the path of least resistance.
People say, correctly, that you need a “vision” of your future success to succeed at the highest levels in sports and business. The same can be said for a successful marriage. A prenuptial agreement, however, is a vision of future failure.
Now clearly, not every marriage is going to succeed. Some people need to break free of toxic and/or unsafe marriages. That’s why we have divorce laws. But making divorce easier doesn’t make marriage better. Indeed, just the opposite is true. Whether by design or by happenstance, divorce law and the miserable process to which they generally subject divorcing couples is good in that it provides a couple disincentive for divorcing to easily, from throwing away that which should be most precious to them and worth sacrificing (even greatly sacrificing) to preserve for their own sakes, both individually and collectively, and for the sake of a peaceful and prosperous society.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277