Hi All -
Been googling this all night but so much information and I don't know what is true or what is a sales pitch, etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I am married and live in California, don't know how much longer it will last. I am starting a company with two other partners, and while it will definitely be a startup with 0 revenue for the first year, I see a lot of potential.
I want to protect my ownership stake as much as possible, so I am thinking to create a foreign llc to hold my ownership and the foreign trust owned by me will own the LLC.
Would this be the best way to operate, or am I going overboard and just a foreign LLC with foreign bank accounts holding any earnings would be enough?
Lastly, which country would be the best place to do this? The easiest for me to deal with, the cheapest for me to setup, and that I can fully trust?
Thank you again, any guidance would be so greatly appreciated.
1. I could go into all the structures that could potentially help you, but I don't think it is a good idea for several reasons. The main one being the first response gave you the best answer, go for a quickie divorce now, and start the business after.
2. You are a test case in what NOT to do. As such rather than helping you specifically, I will try to help as many men who may read this.
3. Men are usually 3-5 steps behind where ever they think they are with a woman. Hence, it is very hard to help a man once he already has had an interaction with a woman, because wherever he thinks he is when he seeks help, he is usually 3-5 steps worse off/behind. It is a large part of the reason why divorce lawyers cannot help men in general. Women go to divorce lawyers before getting married in secret, they go during the first argument/hiccup in the marriage, with their girlfriends. And men go after getting the papers or she shouts 'I'm divorcing you'. By that point she already quit her job, is a stay at home mom, pressured you into working more hours to cover her lifestyle demands, pushed you into buying her an extra car and a larger house with a white picket fence you cannot afford and likely pressured you into having kids you didn't want.
By this point it is a slam dunk case for the woman's lawyer because she has you hook, line and sinker. She has created a multi-year track record of her not working, being a SAHM, "taking care of the kids and being their primary care giver", 'he is never at home with the kids', 'he already pays for everything', so is it any surprise the judge agrees to keep the framework that was already largely in place to maintain normalcy for the kids? Then the man gets surprised that he still has to give her everything like they were together and she doesn't have to do anything. Its not fair, but it is how things work.
4. Marriage is a business contract. You are not going into business with 2 other people, you are going in with 3, your 2 partners and your legal business partner in all of your business activities, your WIFE! Men get stupid when it comes to women. They are failing to see marriage for what it is, a business arrangement, nothing more or less, it has the same contract like any other business deal. Your question is flawed in that it goes back to my point #3, read it, re-read it and do it a 3rd time. You are already 3-5 steps behind. Your wife is your LEGAL business partner in your business. You are now trying to essentially screw your business partner out of your NEW business as you are breaking things up. Even if you successfully do this, if it takes off she will chase you down for alimony, child support and claim you screwed her out her part of the business, and will call your other business partners to testify that you started this when you were still married.
Your best bet would be to find some lawyer and sweet talk her for a swift amount that cuts her out or pays her out of her share of the business.
. She would have probably bought the moon if he gave her the card.
