> Not getting married or having an overly aggressive lopsided prenup can result in enormous power imbalances that inhibit having the true partnership which is n

> Not getting married or having an overly aggressive lopsided prenup can result in enormous power imbalances that inhibit having the true partnership which is necessary for a successful relationship. I agree with this --If a prenup is creating/enforcing a large power imbalance, at least one (likely both) people need to seriously consider what they're getting into. I disagree with the rest of the things you said after that though: > true partnership which is necessary for a successful relationship > Unless your relationship never was and never is intended to be a partnership between equals. But if so you owe it to yourself and your partner to be clear about that. > to the purpose of your relationship in the first place. This argument seems like it is very subjective. To be fair I do think most societies have generally gotten to consensus on what successful relationships looks like in broad strokes, but I think that kind of consensus falls apart when you really start looking closely at it. Even simple things like "how is the burden of child rearing split" start to create huge fractures. The phrase "partnership between equals" does not preclude prenups -- the details of the partnership are between the people entering into it. It's quite possibly extremely naive but ideally both people have a clear understanding of the nature of the relationship and agree on the future enough to put that into written terms they agree with. If someone is creating a lopsided prenup in an attempt to hoard wealth on one side because of a lack of trust... Maybe you shouldn't bind yourself to that particular person for life? People get into relationships for lots of reasons. Some cultures pair people up for social advancement, others try to pair for love, others pair with a sense of duty/obligation/necessity, and some cultures don't pair up at all. Marriage is a covenant -- saying/writing what you expect down is the best way to make sure another person knows it, whether finances are involved or not. I'd say a prenup is a really good indicator to both sides of the potential power imbalance -- just like a proposal, it shouldn't be a surprise.