Why are they marrying someone who they don't trust? That sounds like an awful state of affairs and likely those marriages will not last. Don't most wedding vows include a line about being honest? Yikes to those marriages.

Yes and no. emotionally, its a bad idea. Rationally, it probably isnt an awful idea to hedge against a marriage not working out

> Rationally, it probably isnt an awful idea to hedge against a marriage not working out

That doesn't make sense. Rationally, hiding that money in secret is a reason that the marriage won't work out. Hide that money, tell lies, be a scheming and awful person, and there will be a self-fulfilling prophesy of that marriage not working out.

That may be true but most marriages don’t work out and they are not self-fulfilling prophecies.

While true, that's not really the point of the parent comment.

This is another attempt at security by obscurity. Like others, it doesn't work.

Open source (this time in the form of full disclosure and a prenup agreement) is the way to go.

You can get married without sharing assets. In fact in my country this is now the default option. Everything you owned before marriage will remain yours.

What country?

Yes the Netherlands. There was some grumbling about "romance" but most marriages end in tears and legal trouble anyway. And women are supposed to have their own income in modern society.

Probably the Netherlands