A Roadmap to Navigating the Complex Interactions Between Trust Law and Divorce Law

In this presentation, Steve Malech and Dan Daniels will discuss the complex intersection of trust law and divorce law. Subjects to be covered a brief review of the different types of trusts, the impact of state property dissolution statutes on whether a trust is includible in the marital estate, how to design – and how not to design – a trust to protect the assets from the claims of divorcing spouses, and litigation strategies for protecting or attacking trusts in connection with property divisions into force. Malech is a prominent trust litigation lawyer in New York City and Daniels is an estate planning lawyer headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. Both are partners in the law firm Wiggin and Dana LLP.

Learning Objectives:

1. Review different types of trusts and the impact that state property dissolution statutes have on those trusts
2. Identify how to design a trust to protect assets from claims made by divorcing spouses
3. Develop successful litigation strategies when defending or seeking assets from a trust, in connection with property divisions