Does Divorce – or Marriage – Go Better for the Wealthy?
For those struggling financially through divorce, it may console them to know that millionaires may not be any happier in their marriages – or divorces.
About half of wealthy people describe themselves as unhappy in their marriages, and just as many admit to cheating on their spouses in the last three years. (Interestingly, more women than men owned up to affairs.)
Somewhat ironically, the excuse cited for unfaithfulness was desire for variety.
Although half of the affluent were unhappy in their marriages, just thirty percent were considering divorce…
Primarily because divorce is expensive in more ways than one – and could adversely affect a spouse’s business standing and dealings.
But despite the greater aversion of the well-off to divorce, they do tend to plan ahead and prepare.
More than half of wealthy women take steps to assure a private nest egg to see them through, and about one-third of comfortable men do the same. And the greater the couple’s wealth, the greater the likelihood that one or both spouses had tucked something away for that rainy day.
Surprisingly, relatively few rich people had prenuptial agreements. Only 6% of millionaires and only 11% of multi-millionaires with $10 million or more.
Just as surprisingly, postnuptial agreements (property settlement agreements made during marriage) were slightly more common among millionaires generally, but with the highest concentration among multi-millionaires with $10 million or more.
Read more in this Forbes piece: The Wealthy – The Rich And Unfaithful.
