Preparing for your child’s wedding should be a joyful experience, so it should come as no surprise when a family business owner avoids bringing up a prenuptial agreement. Business owners and families of wealth should know that a properly structured trust can be a very effective alternative to a prenuptial agreement.

When one or more generations of a family have worked hard in business to accumulate substantial wealth, they will frequently ask their children to enter into prenuptial agreements to protect the family business and other assets in the event of a future divorce. For a first marriage of relatively young persons, the concept of a prenuptial agreement is frequently considered offensive and a topic to be avoided. Even the discussion between parent and child can be stressful and considered by the child to be undue pressure ahead of what they believe will be the happiest day of their lives. When met with these circumstances, counsel can help alleviate the family strife by suggesting the use of trusts to protect assets in the event of a divorce at least as effectively as an actual prenuptial agreement signed by those about to be married. This article discusses some of the many ways that a trust can be a very effective alternative to a prenuptial agreement.