Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements can invoke tension in marriages precisely because of the presumption that the agreements connote distrust from a partner.
But TikToker and financial expert Mrs. Dow Jones’ analysis of megastars Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s prenup and postnup reveals Black women should hop on the prenup train.
For those who don’t know, the “Halo” songstress and the “99 Problems” rapper signed a prenup in 2008, the same year they tied the knot.
The prenup granted the vocal powerhouse $5 million per child they have, $10 million if their marriage ended before two years and $1 million for every year they stay married up to 15 years, according to Business Insider. The prenup ensured their assets remained separate and required financial transparency.
The $1.16 billion power couple signed a postnup addressing how assets would be distributed and their children’s trust fund.
In a TikTok video posted March 9, Mrs. Dow Jones acknowledged that people view prenups as an encourager to divorce and shut down the notion, comparing prenups to health insurance.
“Beyoncé and Jay-Z know that prenups are like health insurance,” she explained. “You don’t get health insurance expecting or wanting to get sick, but having it means you’re protected in case it happens. Prenups are the same; they’re just marriage insurance. You want yours to last forever, but you’re protected no matter what.”
She continued, “And they’re especially important if you’re marrying someone with debt because, without one, you could be responsible for repaying their loans if you get divorced, even if they incurred before you got married.”
MadameNoire has encouraged Black women to introduce prenup agreements into their marriage, acquiring insight from attorneys about prenups, precisely why they should involve prenups in their marriage and how to introduce the idea to their partner.
The two main reasons for prenups highlighted were inadequate awareness of each other’s financial standings and protecting assets. This is true, considering financial statistics are changing for Black women. According to a 2022 Pew Research study, Black married women who graduated college are more likely to be in egalitarian (shared responsibilities) and breadwinner-wife marriages than other races due to them out-earning their husbands. However, a 2018 study by Bowling Green State University reported that Black women were the sole race group that had a higher divorce rate than marriage rate. A 2021 report by Consumer Reports read that Black families have significantly “less wealth than white families — a median net worth of $24,100 compared with $188,200.”
