She's been divorced twice, but Vickie Parks is confident that this time she's found the right man.

The 49-year-old is engaged to Tom Rasmussen, 45. The Colorado couple is planning an August wedding.

Parks has three grown children from her previous marriages; it's the first marriage for Rasmussen.

Parks would like them to draft a will at some point, but she thinks they'll skip a prenuptial agreement.

"We don't need that," Parks says. "The ring (symbolizes) the commitment that you make to each other for life."

The divorce rate is between 40 percent and 50 percent for first marriages, and is even higher for second and third marriages, yet only about 5 percent of married couples have a prenuptial agreement.

Prenuptial agreements can help to determine how property will be divided upon divorce or the death of one of the partners.

They're not just for the Tom Cruises and Katie Holmeses of the world, experts say.

"I'm all in favor of them," says attorney Levi Brooks of Fort Collins, Colo.

"Do they make the (divorce) process easier? You still have all the things they acquired during the marriage. But it eliminates (from the negotiations) the major things couples fight about — the property they had before they married," Brooks says.

Couples who might benefit from a prenuptial agreement are often reluctant to bring the subject up, he says.

"Part of the hesitation is 'I don't want to talk about what happens if we get a divorce,' " Brooks says.

Prenuptial agreements are becoming more common, but not as common as one might think — given the divorce rate and the increase in the number of couples who are marrying at a later age after they've already acquired assets, says attorney Scott Walker.

While Walker handles about 35 divorces a year, some years he doesn't encounter one divorcing couple with a prenuptial agreement. But he drafts three to four agreements per year for couples that are marrying.

"Folks are becoming less trusting of their hearts and more trusting of their brains. They want to hedge their bets. In divorce, strange things can happen," he says.

Those who don't think about a prenuptial agreement until they've already tied the knot can draft a similar postnuptial agreement, Walker says.

The cost for prenuptial agreements ranges from a few hundred dollars to thousands. Experts recommend that both parties have a lawyer.

Following are cases in which couples should seriously consider the agreements: