In 2020, Almost Every 20th Couple Concluded a Prenuptial Agreement

In 2020, Ukrainians concluded 7,458 prenuptial agreements. It is 7% higher than in 2019.

The percentage of couples with such agreements increases gradually. In 2018, 2.68% of all registered marriages had a prenuptial agreement, while in 2020, this figure equaled 4.44%.

In other words, three years ago, only one new couple out of 40 signed a prenuptial agreement, while now almost every 20th does so.

ImageData

Number of marriages and prenuptial agreements in 2018–2021

Year	2018	2019	2020
Number of marriages	228,411	237,858	167,974
Number of prenuptial agreements	6,167	6,957	7,458

The increase in the number of prenuptial agreements is particularly notable because of the pandemic and the decrease in new marriages. To compare: in 2019, the number of registered marriages in Ukraine was 237,900, while in 2020, it was 167,900, which is less by 29%.

An attorney Alla Melnichenko stated top three reasons why prenuptial agreements gain popularity:

— «Division of property might take years. Today, young people have a more practical view about marriage because they value their time.

— Most disagreements between spouses are related to what property will be transferred to the child they have together. The agreement allows regulating this issue in advance.

— Often, one of the spouses has a debt that has to be paid after divorce at the cost of the common property. It might be stated in a prenuptial agreement that each spouse is responsible for their obligations».

According to the expert, the increased number of prenuptial agreements is a predicted tendency, even though the stereotypes interfere.

«A prenuptial agreement is not a sign of mistrust, — Alla comments. — In contrast to some other countries, in Ukraine, this agreement only regulates property rights and responsibilities; therefore, it is impossible to control a spouse or establish some personal obligations using a prenuptial agreement. From a legal point of view, a prenuptial agreement is a useful thing».