Can you insure yourself against the financial consequences of a divorce?

When lovers are together, divorce is the last thing they (want to) think about. Completely understandable. No one gets married with the idea of getting divorced again a few years later. But do you take out fire insurance with the idea that your house will burn down soon? Do you sign that home contents insurance with the idea that your home contents will be stolen next weekend? Probably not. We take out insurance to cover ourselves against all kinds of risks. And divorce is also a risk.

Can you insure yourself against the financial damage of a divorce? No. Can you arrange a lot yourself to prevent problems later? Yes. For married couples we have the prenuptial agreement, for registered partners the partnership agreement and for cohabitants the cohabitation contract. These are all three agreements that you can draw up at the beginning or during the relationship. Although prevention is better than cure, it is also possible to still record agreements during the relationship.

Today, an article appeared in the Financieel Dagblad explaining the importance of written agreements. Click here to read the article 'Happily married? Arrange your divorce'. Our task as lawyers is not only to advise people when they have ended up in a (real) divorce. We also advise clients before they marry about the prenuptial agreement or when important transfers of assets take place during the marriage or cohabitation. In the British drama series 'The Split' the idea behind the prenuptial agreement was also described as:

“Marriage contracts are written with the mind for when the heart has forgotten love.“

With this quote in mind, those prenuptial agreements sound a lot more romantic, don't they?!

Are you happily married, but do you have questions about your joint assets? You can us always ask for advice.