{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Trust Us: Estate Planning Wisdom","title":"Love, Trusts, and Prenups: \"Strangers: A Memoir of a Marriage\"","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1163,"description":"Hosts Danielle Friedman and Herb Fineburg dig into the New York Times bestseller Strangers by Belle Burden, using the book's real-life inspired story to unpack how prenuptial agreements and trusts actually work when a marriage ends. The conversation centers on Belle's inheritance from her wealthy family, the prenup she signed under pressure from her husband James, and the costly decision to pull money from an irrevocable trust to buy real estate in joint names.Danielle and Herb break down the critical difference between a prenup, which can be modified or waived by the couple, and a trust, which cannot be changed once established. They examine where Belle's trustees fell short, why titling inherited assets jointly can undo the protection a trust is designed to provide, and what a trustee should do instead when a beneficiary asks to withdraw significant funds.The episode closes with practical lessons for anyone who is a trust beneficiary, a trustee, or entering a marriage with inherited wealth, including why independent counsel matters at every stage.Episode Timestamps00:00 Podcast Introduction & Episode Overview01:00 Introducing the Book Strangers by Belle Borden02:00 Belle Borden's Family Background and Inherited Wealth03:00 Belle and James's Marriage and the Original Prenup04:00 Modifying the Prenuptial Agreement05:00 How the Prenup Defined Separate vs. Marital Property06:00 Prenups vs. Trusts: A Key Distinction07:00 What the Trustees Got Wrong08:00 Withdrawing Trust Funds to Buy Real Estate in Joint Names09:00 Belle's Own Reflections on Her Choices10:00 Beneficiaries as Stewards of Family Wealth11:00 The Meeting to Terminate the Prenup12:00 James's Strategic Advantage Heading Into Divorce13:00 How James Protected His Own Assets14:00 The Importance of Financial Literacy in Marriage15:00 How a Trustee Should Have Handled the Request16:00 Protecting Inherited Assets Under State Law17:00 The Risk of Trustee Liability18:00 Choosing the Right Trustee19:00 Final...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/yQE3SNgEH6wMEkja2w4oecXAxXPejm0e0gX5yc9xKEo/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS83N2Zh/M2MyYzNiMDJiMmYx/ODAzOGVlN2EzYWY0/Y2Q3OS5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}