This is an amazing book, written in a way that keeps the reader engaged through the many thoughtful tips and exercises, all geared toward helping the soon-to-be married couple navigate the challenging process of creating a prenuptial agreement. Bouchard and Smith help couples envision a very different process that produces more than the usual obligatory legal agreement by offering instead a vision that gives them the way to use this process to strengthen their relationship.

This Beginners Guide to prenuptial agreements takes the terror out of the idea of prenups by returning the power and responsibility to the couple themselves, beginning with the simple fact that everyone who marries gets a prenup, like it or not. That’s because the laways of your state will govern what happens to the money if you divorce, and so it’s smart to think about whether that would work well for you or whether you’d rather craft something more customized for your own values and circumstances. The authors guide readers through straightforward principles for having constructive conversations about money, values and needs. Any couple contemplating marriage will have a stronger foundation for success after reading this book, whether they decide to create their own agreement or not.

Here’s the big message: It’s not about the money or protecting yourself. It’s about setting up a marriage for success. This is a radical reframe on a prenup as a way to affirm and grow your relationship through a conscious exploration of values.