POV: You got married at age 29, at the height of your career. You were financially independent, making more than enough money. You get married to the love of your life, who is also financially dependent. Fast forward 10 years, and you have four kids, you’re a stay-at-home parent, no more career, years of lost wages, and a huge gap in your resume. You are still with the love of your life, and they support you financially, which is great! And everything is working out. But you have a nagging worry in the back of your mind: “What if?” That’s where a postnup comes in. A postnup can help protect you and compensate you for your career sacrifice to stay home with the children.
And it’s not just career sacrifices for children. Maybe you sacrificed aspects of your career to move around the country for your spouse’s job. Or maybe their job requires you to only work part-time because of the slack you need to pick up. Whatever type of sacrifice–it’s all the same. You can address this with a postnup. Let’s discuss how.
Examples of what a career sacrifice might look like
First, it’s important to understand what might be considered a career sacrifice. Maybe you’re making one, and you don’t even realize it! Here are some example scenarios of spouses who might be sacrificing their career for their partner:
- The relocating spouse: One spouse moves to different cities, states, or even countries for the other’s career, leaving behind their own established job or network.
- The stay-at-home parent: One spouse leaves the workforce entirely to care for children, putting their career on hold indefinitely.
- The supportive spouse: One spouse takes a less demanding job or passes up promotions to support the family and their partner’s demanding career.
- The hardworking spouse: One spouse takes on additional jobs or side hustles in order to cover all of the expenses for the household and/or bills while the other spouse goes back to school.
- The entrepreneur’s helper: One spouse contributes their time significantly to their partner’s business without formal pay and/or recognition.
- The family caregiver: One spouse reduces their work hours or responsibilities to care for an aging parent or sick family member while the other spouse continues to work.
Why addressing career sacrifices in a postnup matters
You may be thinking: I don’t care if I’m sacrificing my career–it’s for the love of my life! Of course, I’m going to help them. And that’s great. We applaud you. But here’s why you should care: Things don’t always work out. Just like you’d purchase travel insurance for a trip or car insurance for a car, getting a prenup or postnup to address career sacrifices is a smart thing to do.
Why? Because some career sacrifices are not addressed by law and may be completely ignored in a divorce settlement. You may never see the value of your hard work, time, and effort again if things ever go south. Not only may you not see the value of your hard work, but if you gave up your career completely, you may not be able to support yourself financially.
Ways to address career sacrifices in a postnup
As you can see above, there are many different ways a spouse can sacrifice their career. They could be overworking themselves to cover the bills, forgoing a career to take care of the children, or contributing hard work to a spouse’s business. Either way–addressing these sacrifices in a postnup is a good idea. Here are some ways you can do so:
Property division
With a postnup, you can divvy up assets in a way that ensures the sacrificing spouse is taken care of financially. For example, if a couple has two houses, an investment account, and a boat, a postnup might allocate the entire investment account to the sacrificing spouse so they are compensated for their work.
Lump sum clause
A lump sum clause is a payment from one spouse to the other in the event of a divorce. You can set the amount to any number you two agree on. This is NOT alimony, it’s its own payment. This can be used to balance out any work the sacrificing spouse has done for the marriage.
Opting into alimony payments
Many people may choose to waive alimony in their postnup, which basically says no one can receive alimony. Instead, couples where one spouse is sacrificing their career may want to opt into alimony and lay out the parameters for which alimony will be paid. Note that if the allotted alimony is less than what state law would allow for, a judge may wipe it out and order more to be paid.
The state law on career sacrifices
Some states do address career sacrifices when considering alimony and property division. For example, in Pennsylvania (and many other equitable distribution states), a court may consider each spouse’s contribution to the household, including homemaker duties. (23 Pa. C.S. § 3502(a)(7)). This may allow a judge who is looking at a couple’s divorce case to say that because of certain career sacrifices that Spouse A made to take care of the home, I will award X to Spouse A. However, as much as that is great to hear–it’s no guarantee. It’s at the discretion of the judge to look at the case as a whole and make decisions. This ambiguity is why relying on state law alone is not the safest option.
The bottom line
Addressing career sacrifices in a postnup is absolutely doable as long as postnups are enforceable in your state. You can customize the agreement to make sense for what type of career sacrifice you are making and ensure you are proportionately compensated for it. Not only compensated for your hard work but also protected if you have no other means of financial support. At the end of the day, it’s about marital harmony and financial security, so you’ll need to make a decision that works for you and your spouse.
Nicole Sheehey is the Head of Legal Content at HelloPrenup, and an Illinois licensed attorney. She has a wealth of knowledge and experience when it comes to prenuptial agreements. Nicole has Juris Doctor from John Marshall Law School. She has a deep understanding of the legal and financial implications of prenuptial agreements, and enjoys writing and collaborating with other attorneys on the nuances of the law. Nicole is passionate about helping couples locate the information they need when it comes to prenuptial agreements. You can reach Nicole here: Nicole@Helloprenup.com
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