保护家庭财富：婚前、婚姻期间和婚后

Through hard work and careful planning,families can build wealth that creates anenduring legacy across multiple generations.Preserving that wealth, however, becomes While affluent families typically focus on mitigating risks related to taxes and market volatility, some of thebiggest challenges to a family’s wealth can come from marriage, divorce, remarriage, blended families, and otherfamily dynamics. With approximately half of marriages in the United States ending in divorce, it is important How Divorce Affects Family Wealth It is important to look at the role that marital property and separate property(or “non-marital property” as it is called in Illinois and some other states) play A divorced couple’s assets are generally identified as either separate property (i.e., propertythat belongs to just one of the spouses) or marital property (i.e., property that is shared by 41% More than 40% of firstmarriages in the United Statesend in divorce*, and divorcerates are significantly higherfor remarriages. While the U.S. The most common forms of separate property include:•Property owned by one of the spouses before the marriage•An inheritance received by one of the spouses either before or during the marriage•Gifts received by one of the spouses during the marriage U.S. Marriage and Divorce Rates * pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7170305/ While divorce rates have gradually declined over the past 15 years, approximatelyhalf of all marriages inthe United States end in divorce. This underscores the importance of thinking proactively about strategies for How Divorce Affects Family Wealth Generally speaking, property acquired during themarriage is considered to be marital property and thus Separate vs. Marital Property Dividing a couple’s assets in a divorce can be a complicated,time-consuming, and expensive process. While laws can varysignificantly from state to state, it is helpful to understand whichtypes of assets are generally treated as marital property (i.e., While gifts and inheritances generally are considered tobe separate property, there are situations that can cause Again, it is important to note that the state lawsvary regarding how separate and marital property Trusts, pre- and post-nuptial agreements, avoiding comminglingassets, and proper titling of assets are all techniques that familiescan use to help protect gifts, inheritances, and other forms of Separate PropertyGenerally limited to: •Property owned before the marriage •Gifts received by one spouse before or during the marriage•Inheritances received before or during the marriage Marital PropertyMost other types of property acquired by the couple during their marriage, including: •Income earned by either spouse or property acquired with theincome earned by either spouse during the marriage•Checking, savings, and investment accounts that have joint titlesor commingled assets, etc.•Real estate, automobiles, and other property acquired during the Strategies for Protecting Family Gifts and Inheritance Supporting younger generations through an inheritance or lifetime gifts of cash, realestate, stock, shares of the family business, investment portfolios, art, or other assets canbe tremendously rewarding for parents and grandparents. It is important to realize that Fortunately, there are several strategies that can be used to help mitigate the risk of giftsor inheritances being subject to division in a divorce settlement or leaving the family upon Keeping Separate Accounts and Titling Assets Separately Memorializing IntentDocumenting the intent of a gift, inheritance, or loan to a loved While gifts and inheritances generally are considered to beseparate property, there are many situations that can causegifts and inheritances to become marital property. Two ofthe most common causes of this are couples commingling one can help minimize the risk of the property leaving the familyin the event of divorce or death. For example, if parents loan theirdaughter and son-in-law $50,000, keeping documentation clarifying When gifted or inherited assets are commingled with thespouse’s assets, those assets can become marital property.For example, if parents give their adult, married son a giftof $25,000, that gift will be considered marital propertyif the son puts the cash in a checking account that is How assets are titled can play a large role in determininghow those assets are distributed upon divorce. For example,assume that a couple gives their adult, married daughter$1 million so that the daughter and their son-in-law canpurchase a home. If the new home is titled jointly between Strategies for Protecting Family Gifts and Inheritance Using Trusts EffectivelyWhen used and executed properly, spendthrift trusts, Avoiding Unintended ConsequencesWhen giving a gift to a loved one, it is important to work with your advisors to understand how those assets may be treated in theevent of death or divorce. For example, putting assets in a tru