Brad Pitt stated " Marriage Is Not Forever" Is He Right?

Pre-nuptials: not just for the rich and famous?


Nicola Field
From Money Magazine, May 2004

With more and more marriages now ending in divorce, Nicola Field explains how a pre-nuptial agreement works.In brief
In 2001 around 103,000 love-struck Australians tied the knot and about 55,000 divorces were granted. According to a recent report by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, 40% of marriages are likely to end in divorce. The statistics don’t show (because this sort of information is no longer recorded) that the failure rate for second and subsequent marriages is even higher.
Our double-digit divorce rate has prompted increasing numbers of newlyweds to consider a pre-nuptial agreement, setting out what each is entitled to in the event of a break-up.
When couples enter into a marriage the property of both partners is pooled and regarded as common property, to be shared in the event of a break-up. If the couple separates, the Family Court looks at the pool of assets and divides it according to the contributions made by each partner in acquiring those assets, along with their respective future needs.
The only way to avoid having your assets pooled is through a pre-nuptial agreement. Officially termed a “binding financial agreement”, pre-nuptials have been enforceable under the Family Law Act since December 2000 (de facto couples can draw up a “co-habitation agreement”).
A standard agreement costs anywhere between $1500 and $5000 per partner. Each spouse needs their own solicitor, and each asset must be valued and disclosed.