Do I need a living trust before I get married to protect my assets?
I am getting married and own my home. I see a lot divorces out there. If I were to put my house in a living trust and make myself a trustee. Will I and my house be protected from divorce. Basically, she will never be able to go after my house or any other asset I have?
Filed under: Retirement Planning
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What you need is a prenuptial agreement.
If you have that much to lose, you should consult an attorney to make sure that everything is done legally, so that it can not be contested in a divorce settlement.
My advice is to seek a lawyers advice and get a prenuptial, then tell her to sign the papers. If she does not agree then you will know that all she wants is your money.
If you have assets or kids, you should always see a lawyer prior to marriage. Even your trust can be broken if it violates state law (for instance, state law regarding a marital home may trump your trust). You generally can only protect premarital holdings as income and acquisitions after marriage are considered marital assets.
I’ll be seeing a lawyer prior to my marriage more because of inheritance issues than divorce. But, I’m in the same position as I will be a new homeowner and sole owner and I don’t want his credit woes to result in attachment to my home. A prenup doesn’t actually work in my situation. I’m still trying to find out if putting a home into a trust eliminates the homestead tax. That would hurt financially as well.