Asking your fiancé to sign a prenuptial agreement is a fantastic way to put your relationship on the rocks.
Merely broaching the subject causes doubt, anger, and fear. These emotions frequently carryover into a marriage.
But the motivation behind prenups is perfectly understandable. It takes years to accumulate significant wealth. Finding business success requires foresight, creativity, and a high tolerance for risk… not to mention a ton of work.
It’s far less impressive or difficult to pretend to love somebody for financial gain.
Fortunately, wealthy individuals are not limited to putting half their net worth at risk or asking for a prenup.
International trusts provide an effective alternative.
You can shelter your wealth in the event of divorce by properly forming an international trust and naming yourself as the beneficiary prior to tying the knot.
By forming the trust in a foreign jurisdiction, a divorce court will lack the authority to gain control over the property owned by the trust. The trustees would be under no legal obligation to abide by a court order from another country.
It is critical to select the proper jurisdiction for the trust. The trust must be carefully drafted by an expert.
Trusts can be pierced if it was funded in anticipation of litigation.
However, a divorcee
will have a difficult time proving that the international trust was funded in anticipation of divorce. This would require that someone got married with the expectation of getting divorced – which is rather nonsensical.
Some jurisdictions will honour the sanctity of a international trust even if it was funded the day before the wedding.
Creating a foreign trust also has the benefit of avoiding the awkwardness caused by asking for a prenup.
This strategy will undoubtedly upset some people.
Whatever.
I see no reason why being a husband or wife for a few years entitles somebody to half of their spouse’s net worth.
Get married for the right reasons and you’ll never have to worry about it.