Why do Some Men with Significant Assets Marry without Prenuptial Contracts?

What are some of the reasons that men with assets, especially young men, agree to marry under a default contract that is so much worse for them than they could obtain by negotiation?

1. Ignorance. Many men, especially young men, are simply ignorant about how bad the default marriage  contract can be for men. The older and wiser a man gets, the more a man has seen what the default has meant for other men and will choose a prenuptial agreement.

2. Innocence, expense, and laziness. Many men, especially young men, are predisposed to believe that the default marriage contract is fair because examining the terms of the default marriage contract is impossible; the terms are not written down anywhere. A good family attorney can explain the implications of the default marriage contract. Getting legal advice requires the man to know that he should never get married under the default contract without legal advice and to expend considerable  time, effort, and expense to become informed. The older and wiser a man gets, the more a man has seen what the default has meant for other men and will choose a prenuptial agreement.

3. Societal and family intimidation against prenuptial contracts. Men know that most fiancees believe (correctly) that the fiancees could never hope to negotiate a more favorable contract than the default and that men likely will have to endure tears, screaming fits, and unwarranted hostile accusations. Many women will rail against the mere idea of negotiating a prenuptial contract. Even suggesting that a woman have her lawyer prepare a prenuptial contract stating the marriage contract that she wants can result in  tears, screaming fits, and unwarranted hostile accusations. These intimidating tactics are not employed because a prenuptial contract is unfair in some discussable way, they are employed because the woman, or her attorney,  wants to preserve, without discussion, the favorable unfairness associated with the default contract. The problem with her attorney preparing a  written prenuptial contract? The problem is that although her attorney can write whatever provisions she wants,  the man can question the reasonableness of the provisions. If the fiancee cannot justify the provisions to his satisfaction, she is going to look like a gold digger to him. Much better to have an unwritten contract whose provisions are not even known until divorce time.

4. Structural bias. Note that the law basically requires that women get legal advice about a prenuptial contract before signing so that she understands the implications of what she is signing, there is no legal requirement that a man understand the implications of the default marriage contract that he is signing.