When a client’s child is getting married, it is common for the family attorney to receive a call before the wedding ceremony. The principal concern is how to protect the client’s assets, ultimately the child’s inheritance, from a child’s divorce. The initial reaction is to have the engaged couple immediately sign a prenuptial agreement. The added stress for the children of signing a legal contract covering a divorce is not the ideal way to start a new marriage. Moreover, the potential damage between the parent and the new son- or daughter-in-law by creating distrust for raising the need for a prenuptial agreement could be permanent. A common fear is that this could impact the ability of the parents to see their grandchildren.

It is typically advisable for the parents to leave their estate in trust for their children to solve the issues of divorce, the death of their child and the child’s potential general creditor issues. Without a trust, it would not be unusual for a child’s inheritance to be claimed by an ex-spouse in a divorce, or to pass upon death to the child’s surviving spouse, who may remarry and have other children (including stepchildren). As a result, some of the client’s assets regrettably and not surprisingly too often never reach their grandchildren, the undeniable primary intended benefactors of a grandparent. Instead, unrelated strangers will succeed to your client’s wealth when left to the child outright and unprotected.