“About 40 per cent of marriages end in divorce, but is a pre-nuptial a good idea or does it indicate distrust from the start?”

Judging by the number of billboards, there’s enough trouble going around with sexual dysfunction without throwing in the great knee-closer that is pre-nups.

Younger Xers haven’t had time to accumulate much wealth yet. If neither has anything, don’t worry about the divvy up.

Older Xers might have had their first divorce party and are considering their second wedding. They could have loads to protect. Or nothing, if they got taken to the cleaners.

Gen Xers also have the twin “cougar” problems. Problem 1: Boys chasing our Gen X cougar women, such as Courtney Cox. Problem 2: Girls chasing our older Gen X cougar men, such as Barry Dawson (aka “The Cougar” from those bourbon ads). That moustachioed dork had the ladies swooning.

For those with money marrying those without, pre-marital financial counselling (that might lead to a binding financial agreement) is probably a sensible idea.

Love can be pretty blind. Or perhaps just pretty drunk. (Hey, was Pretty Woman Julia Roberts wearing beer goggles on a Vegas weekend when she met her ex Lyle Lovett?)

So, if you’re (a) the one with the dough (b) blindly in lerv, and (c) your friends are concerned enough to have suggested you seek a pre-nup, then go have a chat with a professional.

Does it engender distrust from the start? Flip that thinking for a second. If the poorer partner won’t consider a pre-nup, are they marrying for something other than your sparkling personality?

Bruce Brammall is the author of Debt Man Walking (www.debtman.com.au) and a licensed financial adviser.