No one weds to later divorce, but most recognize at least the possibility that the person soon to be standing next to them at the altar might be a “future former spouse.” Individuals of means will want to do what they can to protect against the financial consequences of that possible outcome, most commonly through a prenuptial agreement. However, when a prenuptial agreement appears impractical, impossible, undesirable, or potentially unenforceable, one might use complementary or alternative strategies such as the self-settled spendthrift trust.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the distinctions between “separate property,” “marital property,” "community property,” and the system of “equitable distribution” versus the division of community property in a divorce


• Recognize how prenuptial and postnuptial agreements work and what they can and cannot do


• Determine the utility of self-settled spendthrift trusts (i.e., “asset protection trusts”) as an alternative, or as a supplement, to the use of a prenuptial agreement