‘What’s mine is yours’ has long been uttered by love-struck young couples about to embark on married life together.
But growing numbers are ditching the tradition, with up to a fifth of young adults now signing a pre-nuptial agreement before tying the knot.
In a surprising survey for the Marriage Foundation think-tank, one in five men and 16 per cent of women aged 18 to 35 said they had signed a ‘pre-nup’.
And six in ten of both sexes, who were either single or in a pre-marriage relationship, said they were open to the idea of getting one.
Intriguingly, as pre-nups have risen, divorce rates have fallen.
Until now, they were thought to be the preserve of older people marrying for the second time who have built up considerable wealth and want to protect it. The legal contracts are signed before marriage to outline how assets, debts and other financial matters will be handled in the event of divorce.
The survey, by Whitestone Insight, asked more than 2,000 adults aged 18 to 35 whether they have a pre-nup or would get one.
The results could reflect the fact that growing numbers are delaying marriage into their 30s, when they have accumulated assets or wealth or inherited them.
Up to a fifth of young adults now sign a pre-nuptial agreement before tying the knot. In a surprising survey for the Marriage Foundation think-tank, one in five men and 16 per cent of women aged 18 to 35 said they had signed a ‘pre-nup’
Harry Benson, the Marriage Foundation’s research director and author of the study, said: ‘It seems the young are embracing the idea of a pre-nup should the worst happen and a marriage break down – and in very large numbers.
Our previous study also found that while they did not appear to increase the chances of a divorce, their presence was associated with lower levels of commitment.
‘Why, then, this lower level of commitment was not seen in higher break-up or divorce rates remains unanswered. But pre‑nups are here to stay.’
He added that some couples may see a pre-nup as showing that they’re ‘on the same page’.
In the 1980s pre-nups were used in 5 per cent of weddings; by about 2000 that had grown to 20 per cent, often among older couples.
Sir Paul Coleridge, founder of the Marriage Foundation, said: ‘Times have changed and, strangely, as divorce rates have fallen over the last ten years, pre-nups have become increasingly popular across all age groups.
‘Partly, it is because they have been an accepted feature of European divorce law for decades and there are many now who marry abroad but end up making their home in the UK and being divorced here. Another reason is that the courts have endorsed them as a perfectly respectable and responsible step to take before you marry, as long as everyone behaves fairly.
‘A couple are thus allowed to make their own bespoke financial arrangements and not rely solely on the one-size-fits-all imposed statutory system in the event of breakdown. Overall, we welcome these latest findings as being pro-marriage and a healthy part of the process.’