NewsWire: 2/27/21
- Millennials of all income levels are signing prenuptial agreements. This trend reflects both Millennials’ risk-averse attitudes toward marriage and the fact that young people getting married are older and more likely to have assets to protect. (The Wall Street Journal)
- NH: This WSJ piece highlights rising anecdotal reports of increases in Millennials signing prenuptial agreements. And there is some data to back this up. A 2019 survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers found that 62% of divorce attorneys reported a rise in prenup requests among their clients. Of those attorneys, 51% noted that they saw more signed prenups among Millennials.
- Why is this? On the practical side, Millennials are getting married later in life. Pew reports that the average age of marriage is 30 for men and 28 for women. That’s seven years older than in 1968. Surveys show that Millennials want to be financially stable before tying the knot. (And conversely, a growing share of those who don't achieve financial stability are never tying the knot.) These newly weds want to protect the assets they have worked so long to acquire. Prenups give them that protection. (See "Are Finances Keeping Millennials from Marrying?")
- On the emotional side, this is classic Millennial risk management. Young people want to fall in love and get married, but they are also deeply afraid that their relationships will fail. Prenups are a preemptive measure to protect against what happened to their parents’ marriages. Ironically, the Millennial search for lifelong certainty, which is leading them to trust in a contract, reflects a lack of trust in other people.
- The good news is that they may never need to use these prenups. As I’ve reported in the past, Millennials have been divorcing less at every age than prior generations. And this is partly due to the fact they're taking their time getting to the altar. (See “Divorce Is Wreaking Havoc on Americans Over 50.”)
Did You Know?
- Third Party’s the Charm. When asked by Gallup at the end of January, 62% of U.S. adults agree that our political parties “do such a poor job representing the American people that a third party is needed.” This is up from 57% in September 2020 and is now the highest since Gallup began asking this question in 2003. Only 33% of Americans believe that the parties do an “adequate” job representing the people. Support for a third party has ticked up in recent years, with a majority of Americans consistently backing the idea since 2012. Typically, independents are much more likely than Democrats or Republicans to favor a third party, but in the latest poll, they’re nearly tied (70%) with Republicans (63%). This is because Republicans’ support for a third party has jumped 23 percentage points since September. Indeed, earlier this month, dozens of Republican officials were said to be in talks to form a new center-right party.
