With a prenuptial agreement, each party can specify premarital property/assets to remain the separate property of their original owner throughout the marriage. Prenups preserve the expectations of the parties at the time of marriage and provide a way to navigate their way through a very difficult time in their lives if they choose to separate with as little legal conflict and expense as possible.
A prenup does not prevent a spouse from voluntarily contributing their separate property to the marriage at any point—it just prevents that from happening accidentally. If your partner is entering into the marriage with a lot of debt, a prenup can help ensure that you won’t be responsible for those debts if the marriage ends. If you are significantly wealthier than your partner or have greater earning potential, a prenuptial agreement can help ensure that your partner is marrying you for who you are, rather than for your money.
The contractual terms of the prenup generally minimize the conflict and remove the need for either party to get nasty or try to gain leverage in the divorce, allowing them to remain laser-focused on minimizing the impact of the split on their minor children.
Finally, a prenuptial agreement can prevent your spouse from overturning your estate plan, ensuring that your estate plan works the way you intended after you pass. Where one or both of the parties already have children from a prior marriage, a prenup allows each parent to protect the interests of their children as they re-enter a marriage.