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A Few Thoughts to Spur Thinking About Protecting Premarital or Otherwise Potentially Separate, NonMarital Property

By Janet Langjahr

Lots of people about to embark on the path toward divorce are shocked to learn that their spouse may have some claim to part or all of certain assets that they initially acquired prior to their marriage – or inherited during their marriage.

These folks are even more shocked when they learn that, for the most part, it didn’t have to be that way …

If they had only spoken to an attorney a lot sooner, and titled and / or managed their assets a little more wisely.

A prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement is probably the least expensive and optimal vehicle to head off a divorce-triggered disaster before it happens.

But there are other methods as well, some fairly simple and inexpensive, and some, such as various types of trusts, more complex and, therefore, potentially more costly.

The applicable law governing these divorce and/or estate planning issues may vary considerably from state to state. For example, some states apply the law of equitable distribution upon divorce and others apply community property law. There may be many other differences as well.

Florida is an equitable distribution state and not a community property state, so that must be kept in mind in reading the following referenced article.

Nonetheless, any analysis that gets anyone started thinking about these issues is a step in the right direction. But it’s only the first step …

Read more in this Lake County [Lakeport, CA] News article: Estate planning: Separate property trusts for married persons.

Full post as published by Florida Divorce - Child Custody - Domestic Abuse Law on February 10, 2010 (boomark / email).