Newlyweds need experienced professionals to help protect their assets from unexpected events like lawsuits or debts. It’s important to separate individual and joint assets to avoid problems if they ever face legal problems. Proactive Asset Protection Planning reduces the potential for disputes and helps keep credit scores intact while promoting financial independence. For those with businesses, protecting assets at the beginning of a marriage can shield personal assets from business risks.
Professional advice makes sure these protections are strong and suited to their specific needs.
What to Do
To protect your assets as newlyweds, keep in mind that local courts can penetrate just about anything you do domestically. Local judges have power over local assets. Sure, domestic asset protection vehicles exist: a trust, an LLC, or a limited partnership. The problem is, as our in-house asset protection attorneys can attest, that courts have pierced all of the domestic structures in actual court cases.
So What Works?
The most effective strategy is to put your assets into an offshore asset protection trust. The trust will hold an international LLC that you control while the waters are calm. The LLC will hold your bank and investment accounts in a secure bank located internationally. If needed, the trustee (our law firm) can step in to protect you. This combination of the LLC and the trust is one of the most powerful strategies to protect your assets as a newly married couple.
Is This Safe?
You are employing this strategy because your assets are not safe by leaving them where they are. People have been using offshore asset protection trusts since 1925. Powerful trust jurisdictions such as the Cook Islands and Nevis have impeccable reputations. The trustee companies are licensed, so regulators conduct intensive background checks. Plus, they are bonded, so the funds are insured. Moreover, in our case, the trustee company is our international law firm. Thus, professional people who are legal experts manage the trusts we establish. What about the safety of the banks? Each year Global Finance ranks the 50 safest banks in the world. Of the world’s 50 safest banks, as of this writing, only four are located in the U.S. All four of the U.S. banks are on the bottom half of the list. Amazingly, all are tiny farming banks. No national U.S. banks made the “safest banks” list. Not one. So, much safer banks exist outside of the United States than inside. Keep in mind that U.S. courts have jurisdiction over U.S. banks. So, if safety is a concern, how safe is your U.S. bank account when a U.S. judge empties it because of a divorce?
Steps for Newlyweds to Protect Their Assets
- Put together all of your financial records for the past three years.
- Make copies of your bank, investment, and retirement accounts.
- Set up an offshore trust and international LLC (call or fill out a consultation form for details).
- Set up an international bank account in the name of the LLC.
- Establish credit in your name.
- Get copies of each spouse’s account statements, if possible.
- Get copies of your real estate records.
- Record a home equity line of credit type of mortgage against property that you control. The mortgage will be payable to the international LLC inside of your asset protection trust.
- There are international institutions that can acquire the mortgages if needed. They will place the cash proceeds into a “you can’t touch it account” in your offshore trust. You take this action because a judge may later require that you show proof of cash distribution.
- Do not place your inheritance money with accounts that may also be in your spouse’s name.
- Make an inventory of personal property assets.
- It is best to set this up as early as possible when planning to get married, it is much better to perform financial planning beforehand.
Protecting Assets for Newlyweds
Here we’re talking about the most protection one can establish when planning to get married or are just married. We are not talking about hiding assets. Many newlyweds who seek asset protection do so before any legal problems arrive. Some tools can protect this scenario, but it is best to act beforehand. Under the best circumstances, transfer your separate property, including your business and income, into an asset protection structure. Do this before tying the knot to more effectively guarantee the strongest protection of your assets. Whether you do so beforehand or after the fact, putting any asset protection plan in place strengthens your hand in a legal battle. Establishing a personal asset protection strategy is one of the most important techniques they discuss.
Lack of Planning: A Top Wealth Buster
Ideally, set up your asset protection plan before marriage. Yes, you can set up an asset protection strategy to protect your finances down the line, however, planning measures taken in advance offer the most protection. Imagine having an insurance policy where future income and personal and business assets are never subject to legal disputes. That’s what an asset protection plan for newlyweds provides.
Nuptial Agreements
Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements are not watertight. Not all states recognize them. They are often challenged. So they offer very little certainty. Moreover, they vary from state to state. A strategy in California will differ from one in New York or Texas. By setting up the proper legal tools and transferring property into them, one can effectively shield assets from future liability and debts.
Conclusion
Whereas it is best to include asset protection planning in concert with wedding plans, some strategies are effective at almost any stage in the game. Domestic asset protection strategies are usually not very effective. If you want a strategy that works, use an offshore trust. It is one of the only methods that hold up to local court rulings. Contact our experts today.