Their lawyers have likely been preparing for this moment for more than a year.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are officially engaged and the entire world knows about it — even my four-year-old daughter.
Money matters will be of critical importance in this union considering the size of their combined empires — an estimated $1.67 billion according to Fortune.
So, you’d better believe the prenuptial agreement they’ll potentially share — these legal docs aren’t always a given, and just ask Paul McCartney what happens when you don’t have one — will be ironclad.
It will outline exactly what’s shared, not shared, and what happens when “Your English teacher and your gym teacher,” get married and it doesn’t work out.
Are you in your prenup era? Should you be?
The use of a prenup — once reserved for high-net-worth types — is growing in popularity among newlyweds.
There are fewer 20-something couples with little money between them tying the knot these days.
Now, as couples wed later in life, it means they’re bringing their own assets and liabilities to the table. They’ve got their own banking relationships and investment strategies.
Loads of established couples each have their own financial plans, houses, apartments, cars and careers. Many have pets. Some have children from previous relationships.
And they’ve also witnessed the trauma of messy divorces through parents or friends, something they want to avoid.
Though many lovebirds idealize the joining of financial forces to raise a down payment in an incredibly expensive housing market, economic uncertainty, inflation and rising prices for everything are making Canadian couples focus on the financial risks if things go sideways.
And attitudes are shifting, too.
Earlier this year, a TD Bank survey found that 52 per cent of Gen Z Canadians want their partner to sign a pre-nuptial or cohabitation agreement, far above the national average of 31 per cent.
And increasingly, couples are more comfortable talking about this touchy subject.
Here’s when you need a prenup — and where to get one
Consider getting a prenup before you tie the knot in the following circumstances.
• You have both built up a decent amount of net worth.
• You’re much wealthier or much poorer than your partner.
• You’re planning on quitting your job to raise children.
• You’ve been separated or divorced before.
• You earn much more (or less) than your partner.
• You’re a business owner (even if it’s a small percentage).
• You or your partner are carrying a great deal of debt.
• You want to ensure you can prevent your partner from overturning your estate plan.
Just like the will-making and insurance industries, the prenup business is being disrupted by technology and new ways of making them.
Online prenup platform Jointly, for example, makes pre-nups and cohabitation agreements more accessible, and easier to understand, for around $400 where traditional legal services for these kinds of agreements can run into the many thousands of dollars.
If you want a prenup, get organized
Both of you need to know your net worth, and have it clearly articulated somewhere, and dated.
This is called financial disclosure, and in Canada, you have to be transparent about it with your partner.
Document everything you own (assets) and the money you owe (liabilities).
Your asset list should contain any real estate, RRSPs, TFSAs, pension plans, nonregistered investments, life insurance policies, savings accounts, business investments and precious art or jewelry.
Be specific and take pictures of important documents and items.
Your liability list should include mortgages, loans, lines of credit, credit card balances, business loans and money owed to friends and family.
Now, take the sum of your assets and subtract the sum of your liabilities; that’s your net worth.
If either of you is in the middle of a divorce, those net worth numbers are likely to change, so recalculate each month.
Aside from it being signed (verbal agreements don’t count), for a prenup to be valid and enforceable in Canada, it generally needs to have been independently reviewed by each person’s own lawyer.
Duress or pressure, especially if there is an extreme imbalance in the agreement, can result in the agreement being voided.
Prenups can also take time — bank on at least a month — since they require conversation and thoughtfulness to be truly effective.
Love them or hate them, you just can’t shake off this truth: pre-nups benefit modern couples by addressing the financial ramifications of a marriage dissolving, rather than leaving it to the courts.
And, as Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce get ready to tie the knot, a prenup could be their ultimate championship play.
