by Meredith Gould Ruch

About the author: Meredith Gould Ruch is a freelance journalist and therapist.

We'd been married just six months, but the atmosphere in our home was already dark with dispute, disappointment, and the fallout of prior marriages. We were such a decent, loving couple, I couldn't believe the cloud cover we'd managed to generate.

My husband turned to me one morning after our zillionth inane argument and announced it was time to get into therapy. I said flatly, "No way." He responded with one word that overruled me: "Contract."

The Premarital Contract

Before we got married, my husband and I had agreed that we would get outside help for our relationship if either of us felt we needed it. This was just one condition of a written agreement that we had the foresight to create in advance...