Reason No. 2: Because One Person Wants to Make a Premarital Asset Separate. 

Often folks getting married think it’s fair for the things that they brought into the marriage to stay theirs. Seems simple right? But, there’s a little more to it. The reason a prenup would be important to achieve this goal is because, at least in Colorado, courts look at the premarital value of assets, not whether that asset was owned before a divorce. 

So take, for example, Sven and Svetlana. Svetlana owns a condo in Denver that’s worth $50 with a $20 mortgage, meaning she has $30 in equity. That $30 is Svetlana’s premarital property, meaning that Sven could not take that $30 of value from her if they got divorced. However, the appreciation in value of her condo is marital, meaning it can be fairly divided by the court. So let’s say when Sven and Svetlana get divorced, Svetlana has paid off the mortgage and the value has risen to $80. So $50 – the majority of the value of the condo – is marital, meaning that Svetlana has to pay out Sven for part of that value if she wants to keep the property after they get divorced. 

This might seem like a really unfair result for Svetlana because she always viewed that property as hers. The couple might not even live in the condo – Svetlana might rent it out as a side business and Sven might not even contribute to it. But Sven would still be entitled to part of its value.  

But with a prenup, the couple could say that the condo is going to be Svetlana’s separate property no matter what, meaning that Sven won’t be entitled to any part of it if they get divorced. That is definitely one of the most common goals that folks I represent have when getting prenups.