How a Postnuptial Agreement Can Help Marriages with Compulsive Spenders

 Posted on July 19, 2019 in Family Law

While many couples think they know just about everything regarding the other party before they get married, there are often some big surprises that get revealed after a bride and groom say their vows. Everyone has bizarre, and typically harmless, habits that they either keep under wrap early in a relationship or unconsciously avoid doing around others. However, some individuals have more damaging habits, addictions, and ways of living than is good for them, or their spouse. One of these is compulsive spending. Compulsive spending and the financial strain that it causes on a relationship can ruin a marriage. A family law attorney may provide an option for you before it comes to this, however.

What Is Compulsive Buying?

It is reported that six percent of the U.S. population has compulsive buying behavior, which is not a diagnosable disorder but certainly derives from a serious behavioral issue. Compulsive buying or spending is more common in women — 80 percent of people with compulsive buying are women — though with online shopping it is expected to increase in the male population as well. Compulsive buying is characterized by an obsession that compels the individual to continue a repetition of behavior (buying unnecessary things) even though there are obvious adverse consequences, such as not being able to afford necessities, credit card debt, going into bankruptcy, and getting divorced.

How a Postnuptial Can Help

According to a number of surveys, financial fighting between spouses is the leading or secondary contributor factor in divorce, with 41 percent of Generation X spouses reporting that they got divorced because of disagreements about money. Nearly half of married and cohabiting couples argue about money, with the majority of the arguments involving a spouse saying that the other spends too much, or a spouse that says that the other is too stingy. Other fights are common, such as whose responsibility it is to pay the bills or what the couple’s financial goals are. A postnuptial agreement can help resolve these conflicts by cutting money disagreements out of the marriage altogether.

A postnuptial agreement, which is signed after the marriage began, is a legal document that can be used to separate spousal finances. The spouse with the spending addiction, therefore, is free to amass debt and spend their money on what they want without the other spouse’s finances being tangled up in their buying sprees. Postnuptial agreements, which can be a wake-up call for a spouse with a spending problem, can also be used to dictate how bills are paid and who is responsible for certain necessary expenses such as mortgage payments and childcare.

Our DuPage County Family Law Attorneys Can Help

One of the main benefits of a postnuptial agreement is that it can be crafted to keep each party accountable, and therefore avoid future financial disagreements and stress. Call the experienced DuPage County postnuptial agreement attorneys at the Law Office of Martoccio & Martoccio today at 630-920-8855 to schedule a free consultation.

Sources:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-common-behavior-is-the-no-1-predictor-of-whether-youll-get-divorced-2018-01-10

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/science-choice/201806/5-patterns-compulsive-buying