A financial planner explains why prenups aren't only for pessimists who expect a marriage to fail

Getting a prenup isn't inherently pessimistic. 

Ylisa Sanford, an Ameriprise private wealth adviser and financial planner, says having a prenuptial agreement — a legal document that determines how your assets are distributed should your marriage dissolve — isn't about being negative. It's about being protected. 

She tells Business Insider that having a prenup is similar to having any type of insurance: It's not something you hope to need, but you'll be glad to have it if you do. "I'm very much a romantic, but I'm also a planner," Sanford says. "The planner in me says, 'I'm not planning to need long-term care or go on disability,' but I have that insurance," she says. "I'm not planning to have a car accident, but I have car insurance." 

Sanford says a prenuptial agreement acts as protection, making sure that in the event of a divorce, each partner's assets go to the right person. It acts as a safeguard, but it doesn't mean that something will go wrong.

Sanford says there are three situations where it's essential to have an agreement: in a second marriage with children, for anyone with a family business, and for any couple where one partner has more assets than another. 

She acknowledges that these agreements can sometimes get a bad rap, however. "From a romantic standpoint, I think that they can be very troublesome," Sanford says. "As we look at the news and celebrities, it calls into question the actual intention of the union sometimes." She continues: "In certain cases, they can take on a life of their own if people get too emotionally invested in them, and have a lack of confidence in why they're being developed in the first place."

But, from a financial planning perspective, she's found that they're helpful. "From a planning standpoint, I think that prenups are very effective," she says. Prenuptial agreements can be specific, from splitting shared bank accounts, to making sure that any homes or equity are divided properly, to making sure that the right spouse's children get the proper inheritance. "Premarital agreements that are structured fairly and ethically with informed parties who have had proper consultation make things easy from a financial standpoint if there is a dissolution," she says. 

A prenup isn't the most romantic thing you can do with a partner, but it might be one of the smartest.