‘I just inherited $1,500,000’: 22-year-old from Texas wants to know if she should sign a prenup before getting married because of her sudden windfall. Dave Ramsey responds.

Contracts are not magical documents

Molly told Ramsey her grandfather was a successful businessman in the hardware industry. His recent passing left her with $500,000 in cash, $500,000 in stocks and $500,000 in business notes that offer passive income via interest payments.

This windfall is part of a trend financial experts have described as "Great Wealth Transfer" where an estimated $90 trillion in wealth is expected to be handed down from Baby Boomers to younger Americans.

However, only 26% of Americans expect to leave behind an inheritance, according to Northwestern Mutual's 2024 Planning & Progress Study. For most beneficiaries, the size of the inheritance is unlikely to be life-changing. As of 2022, the average American has inherited about $58,000, according to the Washington Post.

That means Molly’s seven-figure inheritance is relatively rare. Not only is it about to change her life — her previous net worth was $10,000 — but it may also impact her future marriage.

When asked if her fiancé has money, she replied: “Not a ton. He graduated college and his parents have a franchise called Mosquito Joe that he was going to take over … But I'm just a little concerned that the inheritance has made him less [likely] or it's created less pressure for him to work.”

For Ramsey, that’s a clear red flag. “Contracts are not magical documents, they don’t suddenly give people character,” he told Molly.

To improve the chances of a successful marriage, he advised her to go further than simply signing a prenuptial agreement.

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Pre-wedding couples counseling

Although he doesn’t usually recommend prenups, Ramsey said he believes it might be useful in Molly’s situation. He advised her to sign one but warned her about its limitations.

“What I don't want you to do is to think your prenup is going to fix your fiance,” he advises. “It doesn't. It just helps you escape him if it goes completely bad.”

To secure her relationship, he recommended couples counseling before the wedding.

“You need to do some intensive marriage counseling where you say to him what you said to us. That’s very important,” Ramsey explained.

According to a 2019 study conducted by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin, 45.2% of couples claimed to have attended some form of premarital counseling. Those who did were more aware of the struggles in their relationships and were more open to the idea of seeking therapy after the marriage to improve their relationships.