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From the time we were children, most of us probably took for granted that we would get married someday. But as we get older, the idea of getting married “someday” can turn into getting married “as soon as possible.” A number of pressures – both social and biological – may cause us to rush into marriage without taking time to carefully consider whether we are truly compatible with our betrothed.

Maybe you’re getting older and want to have children. Perhaps your long-time partner is demanding a deeper commitment. Whatever the urgent reason may be, it’s hard to make a rational decision under that kind of pressure. For this and many other reasons, it may benefit you to draft a prenuptial agreement if you are feeling at all like your decision to marry may be at all rushed.

Discussing and drafting a prenuptial agreement with your fiancé can be valuable in two ways. First, it will provide the opportunity for frank and serious discussion about issues that are crucial to marital success. Do you have similar views on finances and budgeting? Is one of you coming into the marriage with significant debt? What are your long term goals related to family, higher education, business and home ownership?

These topics may seem scary to think about right now. They could even cause you and your fiancé to realize that you might not be compatible long term. But even if that’s the case, wouldn’t you rather know now than to find out after tying the knot?

Prenuptial agreements also protect both spouses in the event of divorce. By setting some parameters around property and asset division, the divorce process would likely be much faster and less contentious should you ever need to avail yourself of it.

Source: The Huffington Post, “7 Terrible Reasons To Rush Into Marriage,” Jenny Erikson, March 11, 2014