Is marriage a dumb move?

Falling in love after years of building wealth can make life complicated. Tying the knot can sometimes make it worse.

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Nothing kills romance like the words "my attorney."

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If you're getting married Consider a prenuptial agreement, especially if you want to earmark assets for your children from a previous marriage. It will spell out how your money and property will be distributed when the marriage ends (either by divorce or death).

If you're not, You'll want to have what's called a "living-together agreement." Similar to a prenup, it specifies who owns what, which expenses and assets you'll share and what happens if you separate. Also, have a lawyer draft health-care proxies, HIPAA privacy waivers and medical powers of attorney, which will let you make health-care decisions on each other's behalf and give you rights such as hospital visitation.

Update your wills, beneficiary designations on retirement and brokerage accounts, insurance policies and titles on your house and cars if you are fully merging your assets.

Mann and Wally are a conventional enough couple that not getting married never crossed their minds. But these days it occurs to plenty of other couples of a certain age and wealth who are put off by the risk and inconvenience of joining two financially mature households.

It's a matter of security and ease: Had Mann and Wally simply opted to live together, for example, they wouldn't have had to deal with sorting out the ownership of two homes, deciding on a succession plan for Mann's business or protecting the inheritance for Wally's four kids from his two previous marriages.