Historically, a prenuptial agreement was a written contract entered into by a couple before they married to determine how ownership of their respective assets would be decided should their marriage later fail. It can also protect the inheritance rights of children and grandchildren from a previous marriage. It can protect a party’s business or professional practice so that it is not divided and subject to the control or involvement of the other spouse upon their divorce. It can protect the debt-free spouse from having to assume the obligations of the other.

Nowadays, if a spouse plans to give up a lucrative career once married, a premarital agreement can ensure that s/he will be compensated for that sacrifice in the event that the marriage does not last. It can cover any of the details of decision-making and responsibility sharing to which the spouses want to agree in advance. It can limit the amount of support that one spouse might pay to the other upon their eventual divorce. It can protect the financial interests of older persons, persons who are entering into second or subsequent marriages, and persons with substantial wealth.

Finally, today, prenuptial agreements include anything that the couple wants formalized in writing, so long as it is not illegal. For example, a growing number of couples now include social media clauses in their prenuptial agreements to protect them from each other’s wrath in the event of their divorce, agreements that the spouse won’t post photos shared during their marriage on Instagram or personal information on Facebook.