Prenuptial Agreement Alternative FAQs

You had mentioned previously that this asset protection could be used as a prenuptial agreement without “asking the soon to be spouse to sign for a prenuptial agreement? How does that work?

If you do not want to him/her to sign a prenuptial agreement, but are concerned about the remote possibility that you get into a divorce situation, and he/she goes after your assets, here is what you do before you get married: Figure out your total equity, set up the WY LLC and capitalize it by creating a Promissory Note for more than your equity, you will then record the liens against your assets and will the LLC certificate of ownership to your loved ones or even your spouse to be if you want. The key thing is you will remain in full control and if done before you get married you do not need his/her signature on any of the documents.

What if I am already married? Is there a strategy with your asset protection structure to protect me like a postnuptial agreement?

If you are already married you can split the assets based on the equity values 50/50 or whatever percentages, you agree upon. Then we set up 2 WY LLCs, one for you and one for your spouse. We capitalize the entities based on the percentage of equity values you have decided and then each of you will have the promissory note and liens recorded with separate ownership certificates. It is like a TIC structure of real estate but this is for all of your assets. If you divorce or die, you can have your certificate of ownership with your assets go to whomever you choose.

If my spouse is on the deed of a property I would like to place a lien on, does he/she need to be on the LLC? If not, what is the process?

If your spouse is named on the deed, they do not have to hold ownership on the LLC. They do not have to, but they must sign the deed of trust or the mortgage and the note. There is no way around that. If you want them off the LLC it can be done for SPOUSES ONLY, but the idea is that the owners of the property capitalize the LLC with the note and get the share certificates in return. They then pledge the property as collateral. So, the question could always be “Why did the spouse agree to pledge the property as collateral when they got nothing in return?” That may ultimately be the question you have to answer. For those who really want to leave their spouse off the LLC, then the only real answer is “that since you are married it was done for the bene t of the marital estate”. But you could be questioned on it so be prepared. For none married owners then “NO” it does not work.