How To Protect Assets From Divorce – No one ever gets married with the intention of breaking up, but the sad truth is that nearly half of American marriages end in divorce. In addition to the emotional, mental and psychological issues of divorce, there are also financial issues to consider.
At Blake Harris Law, our estate defense attorneys know firsthand how to protect property from divorce proceedings, no matter how difficult. In this guide, we explain how to create an effective asset protection plan, best practices for protecting your finances, what to do if your spouse is hiding marital assets, prenuptial agreements, and more.
How To Protect Assets From Divorce
Divorce is one of the most common cases in the United States, and unfortunately, the process is often very contentious, emotionally draining, and depressing.
How To Protect Real Estate Assets From Divorce?
Divorcing couples can become angry, quick to anger, and even bitter. In some cases, spouses destroy, hide, or liquidate marital funds or assets acquired during their marriage to avoid equitable division. Being proactive and creating a solid asset protection plan is essential. Here are the best ways to protect assets during a divorce:
If your marriage is falling apart and divorce is imminent, start by writing a detailed list of all the assets you and your spouse own. Total joint assets, calculate total net worth, determine how much money is in your account, and select all debts and liabilities.
Separate property is any property acquired before your marriage. Marital property is what you acquired during the marriage.
The next step you should take when creating an asset protection plan is to calculate the value of your assets. During divorce proceedings, the court often assesses each spouse’s property and income before and after the marriage. For a more accurate analysis, consider hiring a financial professional.
How To Protect Your Assets During Divorce
Another important task is dividing assets and property between you and your spouse, including bank accounts, debts and personal property. Delete your joint account and open a separate bank account. Keep accurate records of your finances and transactions and collect important financial documents. The judge may want to refer to these records during court proceedings, so keep them available.
Laws regarding divorce, marital property, equitable distribution, community property, child custody, and alimony vary from state to state. Familiarizing yourself with state divorce and estate protection laws is an important step for any spouse. For example, if your state has community property laws (ie Texas, California, Washington), you may lose half of your community property in a divorce.
Separate property is not eligible, but anything considered marital property is eligible for a 50-50 split. You may want to start by doing some research online or scheduling an interview with a real estate agent or divorce judge in your state.
Many divorcing couples make the common mistake of failing to comply with applicable tax laws and regulations. A common situation would be for one spouse to take tax-free assets (think retirement accounts), while the other spouse receives tax-free assets.
Protect Your Assets In Divorce
For example, after a divorce, a husband may receive $50,000 from a business and a bank account, while the wife receives $50,000 from a 401(k). Therefore, the woman would have to pay taxes to be able to give money, but the man did not.
Next, you need to change the beneficiaries of your retirement accounts, wills, and life insurance. State laws vary, but most do not include former spouses as beneficiaries.
Many people turn their attention to their children, family or friends. If you have a joint will, hire an estate planning agent and make it into a will.
The best way to protect your money and assets during a divorce is to hire an experienced and experienced attorney. At Blake Harris Law, we can teach you how to protect assets in your divorce using our professional knowledge, experience and expertise. Our attorneys will help you navigate the process of opening an estate protection trust, giving you the opportunity to protect your assets and build a better future.
Finding Hidden Assets In A Divorce
In divorce, the rules of equitable distribution govern separate property from marital property. Generally, a trust protection trust is separate property, although it depends on the circumstances and circumstances of where you live. You may want to consider one of the following types of trusts to protect your assets during your divorce:
No, you should never try to hide money, property, or marital assets before a divorce. However, hiding assets is different from protecting the assets you can create. Your ability to do this will depend on your circumstances and you should consult with an estate protection attorney to see if this is the right option for you.
How does a prenuptial agreement protect your assets from a potential divorce? First, a prenuptial agreement is a legally binding document that outlines property division and financial distribution in the event of divorce or death.
A prenuptial agreement protects assets that each person owns before marriage. Assets acquired after marriage are considered marital assets. The key to successfully protecting assets with a prenup is to be precise, detailed and specific about your wishes in the future divorce.
The Dirty Trick Of Hiding Assets During Your Texas Divorce
Another option is to create a postnuptial agreement, which offers the same protections and serves the same general purpose as a prenuptial agreement. However, after marriage happens after marriage. Typically, couples will draft a postnuptial agreement to update their existing agreements to accurately reflect significant changes in the other parties’ finances or affairs.
Can inherited assets be divided during divorce? Well, it depends. Every divorce is unique and the laws of the United States vary depending on the situation.
Many states view inherited property, whether it was received before, during, or after marriage, as separate property. So as long as you don’t commingle those assets with your spouse, they should remain “separate assets” and go to you alone when your marriage ends. However, there are many situations where inherited assets can be lost in a divorce, so it is wise to seek protection.
Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to what type of property protection is right for your situation. Important things to consider include your location, net worth, future plans, lifestyle, etc.
What To Do If Your Spouse Is Hiding Assets
Many people use a household asset protection trust (DAPT), which is an irrevocable trust. Opening an offshore trust is also a common option as it offers the highest level of protection.
However, each trust has different advantages and disadvantages. To learn more, schedule a consultation with our team at Blake Harris Law. Our team of wealth protection attorneys has extensive knowledge of asset protection trusts and we can help you determine which type best suits your needs.
As estate defense attorneys, the team at Blake Harris Law is qualified to help you protect your assets from a potential divorce. Helping our clients learn how to protect their assets against divorce is one of the most important aspects of our legal services. Call Blake Harris Law today at (833) ASK-BLAKE to schedule your initial consultation with our legal team and begin developing your property protection plan.
Attorney Blake Harris is a principal at Blake Harris Law, where he assists clients with domestic and international asset protection programs. Blake’s extensive experience helping families protect their assets has made him an expert in the complex and sensitive issues surrounding asset protection planning. Blake holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Florida and a J.D. from the University of Florida School of Law, a top law school. Division of marital property is an important part of divorce. While common practice is to divide assets equally between spouses, a trust can protect your assets from being divided.
Protect Your Real Estate Assets From The Ravages Of Divorce
So can a trust protect assets in a divorce? Dividing assets under divorce law can be complicated, but your Montana Trusts brokers are here to help you understand the role of trusts in divorce cases.
A living trust is one that the grantor, the person who creates and funds the trust, creates while he is still alive.
In addition to these important differences, there are also protections and restrictions for each type of trust when it comes to dividing assets in a divorce.
An irrevocable trust cannot be withdrawn or changed once set up, which means that the assets transferred to the trust are not controlled again by the grantor. This is an important distinction, as it provides tax benefits to the donor and protects assets from creditors.
Divorce And Beneficiary Designation Changes
In the event of a divorce, the assets of an irrevocable trust can still be divided between the spouses, but it depends on whether it was created during the marriage or before.
If an irrevocable trust was created before the marriage, the funds are usually considered separate property and are not divided among the assets. However, this may vary from case to case.
If a trust was created during the marriage, most states will subject it to property division unless it can be proven that it was created solely for the purpose of property division. However, proving this can be challenging, especially in cases where other assets have been combined during the marriage.
The spouse is usually the beneficiary of the trust established at that time
Ways To Protect Your Assets From Lawsuits And Divorce
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