Polling on Prenuptial Agreements

Courtesy of West Publishing:

Forty-one percent of Americans say they might sign a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement if their spouse or partner asked them to. An equal percentage - 41 percent - said they likely would not sign an agreement. Eighteen percent said they weren't sure what they would do in such a situation.

Men are more willing than women to sign a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement - 44 percent of men said they would definitely or probably sign, while only 38 percent of women said they would.

But with half of all marriages ending in divorce, a majority of Americans appear to be willing to at least consider the idea of a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. Only 20 percent of those surveyed said they would "definitely not" sign a prenup or postnup.

While many people associated these agreements with the rich and famous, legal experts say there are many situations where such an agreement may be prudent, including situations involving family-owned businesses and marriages where one or both spouses have children from previous marriages.

The Thomson West survey found that, when asked if they would sign a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, American adults said:

• Yes, definitely (14%)
• Yes, maybe (27%)
• No, probably not (21%)
• No, definitely not (20%)
• Not sure (18%)

The survey used a demographically balanced sample of 1,000 American adults nationwide, and results are accurate within plus or minus 3 percent.

Which leads me to my conclusion that lawyers more than cleints like prenuptial agreements.