A major concern for Illinois residents who have acquired many assets is how to protect them when their marriage comes to an end. While finances are a concern in most divorces, in a high asset divorce the stakes can be significantly greater.
Planning for the future is always the best option
The best way to protect your assets in a divorce is to make a plan, even before the marriage takes place. While it might seem to some that you are thinking of divorce before you even start your married life together, planning for any possibilities is a logical, calculated decision that can save you a lot of heartache and money. One way to protect your assets is to sign a prenup agreement before the wedding, establishing separate and marital property, how marital property will be divided if you do divorce and even how finances will be handled during the marriage.
A prenup is not your only option
If you already got married, you can still protect your assets by signing a postnuptial agreement that basically establishes the same things as the prenup. However, you might have to look at other options and even internationally to ensure you keep your assets if the marriage fails. Some of your options include:
• Creating trusts that hold your assets, taking the assets out of your name, while you still retain control of them.
• Choosing the international location of your divorce so that it favors protecting your assets
• Creating an overseas foundation and donating all your assets to them, but making yourself the main beneficiary
• Transferring assets to offshore companies and structures
When you think ahead, you can find ways to walk away from marriage with your assets intact. Just make sure you do it in a timely manner, as making many of these decisions close to a divorce filing can call into question your motives.
