Rise in millennials getting pre-nups 'due to all their start-ups'

Older millennials are starting to tie the knot and gather assets - and are making sure their wealth is protected

More millennials are opting for pre-nups (Pete Karici)

The number of millennials securing pre-nuptial agreements before they tie the knot to protect money they have not yet made has spiked, according to new research.

Over half of lawyers who deal with marriages reported a rise in clients aged between 18 and 35 asking for pre-nups in the past three years, a survey of 1,600 members of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers showed.

Pre-nups are legal documents which outline what a spouse will be owed if the marriage ends.

However, while pre-nups in the past largely focused on inheritance and alimony, millennials are also considering intellectual property such as app software, songs, and films.

As older millennials start to marry and cultivate wealth, they are seeking to protect the money that they might make from creative projects that are in their infancy when they marry.

"Members of the millennial generation are particularly choosing prenups as the best option to cover separate property holdings, business interests, anticipated family inheritances and potential alimony claims," commented Joslin Davis, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

Lawyer Barry Slotnick told Bloomberg that he believes the demographic is hyper-aware of high divorce rates and its members are worried about their fiscal futures.

"Without an agreement dictating otherwise, the separate property nature of the business would be valued at the date of the marriage when it was low but the growth during the marriage would be all marital, which may not be fair to the person who created the idea prior to getting hitched," Jacqueline Newman, NYC Divorce Lawyer and Author of Soon-To-Be-Ex, Your Guide to a Perfect Divorce and Relaunch, told Bustle.

The survey follows a study which suggests that millennials are less likely to have had sex than any other generation since the 1920s.

Despite the rise of smartphone apps such as Tinder and Bumble which have revolutionised dating, this age group is spending more time online according to research by San Diego State University.