调查:更多美国人选择签订婚前协议

Americans are taking a cautious approach to marriage and are seeking more prenuptial agreements before walking down the aisle.

And it is not just the wealthy and famous who are looking to safeguard their assets when a marriage crumbles.

More women and middle-class couples are opting for prenups, which can also include adultery clauses, protection of retirement benefits and even custody of the dog, according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), which represents more than 1600 lawyers.

"It's a planning tool. Given that half of marriages end in divorce it makes sense to plan," said Marlene Eskind Moses, the president of the AAML.

Nearly three quarters of members who responded to the AAML poll reported an increase in prenups in the last five years, and more than half said more women are seeking the legal agreements.

Once thought of as only for the rich and famous, prenups are appealing to all income levels but for different reasons.

"Sometimes it can be a prenuptial to protect against debt so that one is not responsible for debt their spouse accumulated before the marriage," Moses explained.

The legal agreements can also include clauses on financial arrangements such as budgets and whether the couple will have separate bank accounts.

More women are working now than in previous decades and they are earning higher salaries. Women comprised 46.8 percent of U.S. workers in 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Labor and that number is expected to rise to 46.9 percent in 2018.

"In our historically male-dominated culture women didn't control money and now they need to plan as much as the men. More women have more assets these days and have more control over funds," said Moses, a family lawyer with 30 years of experience.

最新调查显示，美国民众现在对待婚姻越来越谨慎，更多人在走入婚姻殿堂之前选择签订婚前协议。

而且在婚姻破裂时才寻求保护自己的财产的并非只有富人和名人。

拥有超过1600名会员的美国婚姻律师学会称，更多的女性和中产阶级夫妇选择签订婚前协议，内容还可涉及婚外情、退休金保障、甚至宠物狗监护等条款。

该学会主席马琳．爱思金德．摩斯说：“这是一种规划手段。鉴于当下半数婚姻以失败告终，提前计划很有必要。”

在参与调查的该学会会员中，有近四分之三表示，在过去五年间婚前协议签订量大增；有一半以上的会员称越来越多的女性寻求签订这种法律协议。

人们曾认为婚前协议是富人和名人的“专利”，而事实上，它正吸引着各个收入群体的人，只不过原因不尽相同。

摩斯解释说，“婚前协议有时只是用来避免背债，一方不用为另一方婚前的负债负责。”

婚前协议还可以包括预算、以及夫妻双方今后是否开设独立银行账户等财物条款。

与过去几十年相比，职场女性的人数和收入都有了大幅提高。美国劳工部的统计数据显示，在2009年，职场女性占到美国上班族总数的46.8%，据估计2018年这一比例将上升至46.9%。

拥有30年家庭律师经验的摩斯说：“在过去的男权文化历史上女性不管钱，但她们如今需要像男人一样做出安排。如今更多的女性拥有个人资产，并掌握更多财政大权。”

Vocabulary:

walk down the aisle: 结婚