Judges generally won't enforce one-sided prenup clauses about a spouse's weight, chores, or fidelity.

A study tracking 25,000 copies over 18 years revealed marriages tend to end in divorce more often when the woman is sick. Conversely, men's health issues do not impact divorce rates. Researchers noted that increased depression, potentially as a result of financial dependence, contributes to the disparity. Generally, most marriages do not end when a spouse becomes sick.

In relationships, shared bank accounts used to be the default. Not anymore. Many couples maintain separate finances for practical reasons or to retain greater independence, though many couples experience trust issues as a result. This article checks in on the status of relationship finances and highlights, among other insights, how attitudes toward money are often determined by family history.

Putting money and other financial assets in an irrevocable trust is one way to avoid estate taxes. There are some cons to this trust, like the fact that you can't change the terms of the trust or assets in the trust after they're set. But a big pro is that any financial assets in an irrevocable trust aren't considered part of your estate, meaning they aren't subject to death taxes.

Trust funds can be expensive to set up, given that their establishment often requires paying a lawyer for their time. But for many, that expense might be worth it depending on the complexity of the assets and the ability to specify when, where or how an estate’s assets are used.

Millennials who live together are more likely to keep their finances separate than any previous generation. After all, as people get married later in life and enter marriage with more assets and financial independence, some argue that the traditional route is risky. But others point to research that suggests couples who combine their finances are still happier than those who don't. To learn more, watch this video.

While trusts are typically more expensive to set up than a will, they also help beneficiaries avoid specific types of taxes, depending on the type of trust. Wills typically go through probate, whereas trusts do not. An article offers a list of questions to consider when deciding between the two.

Though divorces have been around for centuries and have become increasingly common, they can still be perceived with hints of shame. Historian Stephanie Coontz advises readers that the good old days of marriage may have been just as bad as today, considering its prevalence throughout history.

Irrevocable trusts, however, are not. Both types help beneficiaries avoid probate, the lengthy court process that administers a person’s estate upon death.

The executor of the will in question not only collects estate assets, but also pays outstanding taxes and more. Grantors sometimes opt for a revocable trust instead of a will so their assets avoid probate in the event of their death.

Courts generally side with state law when it conflicts with a local ordinance. Whether the contradiction is explicitly stated or merely implied by the two laws, state authority typically prevails.

Those relatives are often the pension holder’s surviving spouses or dependents. This article offers tips from a financial expert on how to make sure your spouse is taken care of during retirement, including navigating a pension’s ultimate destination.

Black and Asian respondents reported more pessimism about marriage than white or Hispanic respondents. Over half of Republicans feel negatively about the future of marriage, while only 25% of Democrats felt the same.

They’re used as a way to designate assets to beneficiaries while skirting certain taxes and maintaining one’s privacy. They can hold a wide range of assets, including cash, real estate, stocks, businesses, and more.

State court juror pay ranges from nothing in Illinois and South Carolina to $50 per day in six states, with a national average of around $22 per day. Only eight states and DC require employers to provide paid time off during jury service.

Marriage has taken drastically different forms than in the past. The transformation of marriage from a form of economic dependency for women to an equal partnership has forged demographic shifts. Richard Reeves, author of "Of Boys and Men," explains how economic and educational factors have potentially destabilized partnerships and changed patterns of “marriageability” for middle- and lower-class men.

In a 2025 decision arising from litigation over a presidential order on birthright citizenship, the Supreme Court held that individual federal judges may not nationwide block executive policies—curbing the use of sweeping injunctions and reshaping how constitutional challenges proceed through the courts.

Irrevocable trusts are almost impossible for the grantor to change or dissolve. With a revocable trust, the grantor can alter or dissolve the trust at any time. However, there are upsides to irrevocable trusts, too—such as the fact that they’re typically not subject to estate taxes, unlike revocable trusts.

However, the bankruptcy process does not apply to several types of common debt, including money owed toward child support or alimony payments. Most debtors also do not qualify for relief from student loan payments.

A 2023 survey of roughly 2,000 US adults showed roughly a third of the participants opted to stay in a different room from their partner at night. Reasons for the so-called "sleep divorce" varied, from snoring issues to offset schedules. The survey, run by the American Academy for Sleep Medicine, also revealed the most sleep divorces within millennials. See the study for more on this change in sleep habits.

The Constitution grants Supreme Court justices lifetime appointments to shield them from electoral politics and outside pressure, a design meant to preserve judicial independence but now widely debated due to longer lifespans and partisan balances of the court.

It may not be rocket science, but a lifetime partnership could still use some study. This quick list of smart traits gets into key traits that typically help a marriage remain happy ever after. Using studies from trained therapists and researchers, the article explains how really knowing each other, accepting bids for attention, seeking resolution to conflict, and more are essential to durable marriages. Read it here.

Reservation-based courts handle civil and criminal cases, but federal law sharply limits their authority over non-tribal members. As a result, non-Native individuals who commit crimes on reservations often fall outside tribal jurisdiction, creating potential gaps in accountability.

People of different socioeconomic classes often decide to establish a trust to avoid certain taxes. When someone dies and leaves assets to beneficiaries in a will, those beneficiaries must pay specific taxes a trust's beneficiaries avoid. It all depends on the type of trust.

Debtors must know whether their liabilities are secured or unsecured and what type of assets they have. They also need to know what a filing can and can’t help them with.

Those taxes kick in once someone starts taking distributions from their pension. Whether a pension is subject to state income taxes depends on the state and other factors. Learn more about how pensions are taxed in this article.

When jurors disagree with a law, they can simply vote to acquit regardless of the evidence; however, this practice is rare, and the legal system actively discourages it. This podcast traces its history from a Quaker prayer meeting in London to the LA riots.

If borrowers can't pay back the loan, they can be subject to overdraft fees from their bank and other fees from the payday lender—further exacerbating the debt borrowers face.

Ars Technica spoke with legal experts about how—and if—people could design their wills to prevent AI resurrection. Though this is not yet a common request, one lawyer suggested that people worried about living on in an AI format can draft a power of attorney and a will that prevents those in charge of one's estate from submitting any texts, voice, image, writings, or other personal information to any AI tools.

This means that often, an employee won’t be eligible to receive a full pension benefit from an employer until they have worked at the job for a certain number of years. Specifically, these vesting schedules determine when one owns their employer’s pension contributions. The number of years varies significantly by employer.

89% of the world’s population now live in countries with falling rates. Increasing costs of living, the financial burden of starting a family, and the rise of secularism are some of the key factors reducing marriage rates among the less affluent.

Unlike US Supreme Court justices, 99% of state supreme court justices face term limits, reselection, or mandatory retirement ages. Since 1970, they've averaged 13 years on the bench—half the tenure of their federal counterparts.

Out of all married physicians, roughly one in five is married to another physician. The trend extends beyond the medical field. Some professionals are more likely to marry one another than others. Find out which jobs most often pair together among married couples with this interactive tool based on estimates from the American Community Survey. Click here to type in your profession and see your most likely match.

Batson v. Kentucky banned prosecutors from excluding jurors on the basis of race, but critics say it backfired. Prosecutors often use race-neutral pretexts to remove potential jurors that judges rarely reject, and some courts have never found a violation of the ruling.

One big way to avoid paying several death taxes? Get married. The unlimited marital deduction allows an individual to grant all their financial assets to their spouse while they're alive or after they’ve died without having to pay the federal estate tax or gift tax. There are limitations to this rule. For instance, how it works with state death taxes. Learn more here.

Generally speaking, pay transparency occurs when an employer provides compensation information. But that idea can take many different forms in different states with different pay transparency laws depending on what each specific law dictates. To learn about more pay transparency basics like the ones above, read this article.

Chapter 7 is the most popular type of filing for individuals needing relief. However, to be eligible, debtors must pass an income means test. At the most basic level, they must prove that their average monthly income over six months is below their state’s median. But there are exceptions.

Municipalities have rushed to accommodate the explosion of pickleball games, but sometimes they can't keep up. That's frustrated tennis players, whose courts are now often filled with people playing the sport.

Marriage was around in one form or another long before written history. From bonds between two people to large polyamorous gatherings of spouses, the rich history of marriage practices demonstrates that partnerships have been, and will likely continue to be, incredibly diverse.