Prenuptial Asset Calculator

A large asset imbalance is one common reason to consider a prenup, since the spouse bringing significantly more separate property into the marriage often wants clear documentation protecting it, but it isn't the only reason. Prenups are also used to protect a family business from a future divorce claim, clarify how premarital debt will be handled, or set expectations about inheritances regardless of how balanced the two spouses' current assets are.

It's a simple rule-of-thumb comparison between the total value a prenup could protect and the estimated legal cost of drafting one, flagging it as clearly worthwhile once the protected value reaches roughly ten times the legal cost. It doesn't weigh non-financial reasons for a prenup, so a couple with modest assets relative to legal fees might still have good reasons to get one that this ratio alone won't capture.

No — enforceability depends on more than just the document existing, including both spouses having full financial disclosure and independent legal representation, the agreement being signed well before the wedding without pressure or coercion, and its terms not being unconscionable under the laws of the state where it's enforced. A poorly drafted or improperly executed prenup can be challenged and even thrown out entirely, regardless of how much value it was meant to protect.

No — the legal cost estimate only feeds into the cost-benefit ratio and recommendation, comparing what you'd spend against what you'd protect, but it has no bearing on the total protected assets figure itself, which is calculated purely from the premarital assets, inheritance, and business values you enter. A more expensive attorney doesn't protect more or less of your property; it only changes whether the ratio looks favorable.