HelloPrenup: What it Cost & Why I Used It
Our “What does it really cost” series sheds light on how much different people across the country spend on the big life events: having a baby, taking a sabbatical year, moving, getting a master’s degree, buying a house, etc. This week’s feature is highlighting the true costs for creating and notarizing a prenup with HelloPrenup.
Location: Los Angeles, CA
What was your total cost for a prenup?
My fiancé and I agreed to put together a prenup in order to protect each other from our current debt, and protect our future selves financially in the case we get divorced. I asked around for some lawyers, but they were all insanely expensive (one quote I got was $10K), and we would each need to get a lawyer to review the prenup. I stumbled across a Shark Tank funded service called HelloPrenup, and we decided to go that route instead.
With a $50 off promo, the prenup itself was $549 and getting 3 copies notarized (the recommended number of copies by HelloPrenup) at UPS was $90. Plus I suppose the cost for paper and ink.
Final Costs: About $639
Was this more or less than you were expecting?
I guess less, but also more. The lawyers were SO much more expensive than I thought, and I didn’t initially know that we would each need to get a lawyer (meaning double whatever I initially thought the cost would be). HelloPrenup ended up being so much more affordable – and less than what I initially thought the lawyers might cost.
Were there options that you considered other than HelloPrenup? What are the pros and cons of this compared to other options?
Considered actual family lawyers. This would have been so, so, SO much more expensive. We got a quote from one lawyer that came recommended. It would have been $10,000 just for me. We would have had to hire another lawyer to represent my fiancé. My sense was we might have been able to shop around and find lower rates (maybe $10,000 for both), but that is still many times more than the $639 for HelloPrenup.
Pros: Saving all of that money with a service that I feel I can trust. They did go in depth and helped answer any questions, provided resources specific to your state, etc.
Cons: Because this is through a service and was not drafted by lawyers, I imagine there are areas that were less customizable. Plus, HellpPrenup does not come with any legal expertise (just my fiancé and I talking it out ourselves), and of course who knows if/how much of it will hold up in court (and hopefully I’ll never have to find out!).
Ultimately, though, it was a great exercise to get all of the financial things out in the open and be able to talk about our financial future together – including things we hadn’t though about, like who would continue to pay (or not) for health insurance for the family in case of a divorce, etc.
What do you wish you would have known?
Honestly, I came into this so blind. I wish there was more conversation about prenups in general! Not just the scary, I’m marrying rich so I need to get a prenup, but just for normal, everyday folks like us.
In conclusion, this woman’s total cost for a prenup about $639.
We hope this gives you insights into how someone else navigated the costs of creating and notarizing a prenup. Do these costs surprise you?
This post was created as part of the “What does it really cost series?” Her Personal Finance’s mission is to help high-earning women take charge of their finances. As an MBA, our founder has a particular passion for supporting this community. Here is a link to a Q&A with Harvard Business School students about finances in school. You can also learn more about our founder and our classes on our website.
Did you enjoy this post and want to contribute your own story? Send us an email to eryn@herpersonalfinance.com.
