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Economic Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Divorce in the air, marriages for the rich built on ‘trust'
Synopsis As prenuptial agreements lack legal standing in India, affluent families are increasingly utilizing private family discretionary trusts to safeguard assets during marital breakdowns. This trend, initially favored by the ultra-rich, now extends to the upper-middle-class, offering protection against financial risks associated with divorce and ensuring family wealth remains secure, especially in inter-caste or inter-religious marriages. TIL Creatives Representative Image Mumbai: With prenuptial agreements still not legally enforceable in India, the rich are finding new ways to shield themselves from the financial blow of a marital breakdown. The 'private family discretionary trust' is one such arrangement being repurposed to meet this need. A Delhi-based garment exporter, whose son's marriage soured very soon, said, 'Thanks to the trust we'd set up before the wedding, his business interest and family home remained untouched.'Similarly, a leading jeweller in Mumbai placed all real estate assets in a discretionary trust, naming his son as beneficiary. When the son filed for divorce, the wife could lay no claim on the properties she once thought she'd co-own. 'By definition, a trust protects the interest of the beneficiaries through the trustee ' said Rajat Dutta, founder of Inheritance Needs Services. 'In case a borrower defaults in financial obligations to lenders, then the assets in the trust cannot be attached by the lender, though the borrower is one of the trustees and also one of the beneficiaries,' said trend, once limited to the ultra-high net worth individuals in India, is now spreading to the upper-middle-class, as people look to protect their earnings and save the family from litigation, especially in case of a divorce. The trust also protects women. According to a lawyer, a woman who often had to deal with her husband's irrational demand for financial support, was able to protect her financial assets as they were in the trust which her father had created for his daughter and her to legal experts, this arrangement is also being adopted by traditional, business-oriented families which want to protect their enterprises, and parents of non-resident Indians who are in mixed marriages. SHIELDING SONS, SIDE-STEPPING BIAS Ashvini Chopra, head of family office solutions at Avendus Wealth Management, said many families are setting up trusts to shield the males from financial exposure after marriage, more so if it's not within the same caste and structured prudently, allow families to ensure that the male child technically doesn't own any asset and is just a beneficiary, thereby reducing the scope of a claim in case of a divorce.'Indian parents being possessive of family wealth wish to protect inherited wealth and de -risk future perceived risks of breakups' said Dutta of Inheritance Needs said that trust deeds are now being drafted keeping potential divorce in mind—a shift from their traditional inheritance-focused intent. In some recent highprofile divorces, judgments have varied widely, largely because there's no clear legislative framework—like a prenup—to guide settlements. Citing a case, a Mumbai-based family lawyer said, "A family business was nearly halved after a divorce settlement. Had the assets been placed in a properly drafted discretionary trust, they would have been out of legal reach.'A Mumbai-based estate planner spoke of a wealthy retired bureaucrat from Delhi who, on learning that his son wished to marry a divorcee with a girl child, put his entire wealth in a also a future-facing angle to this trust trend.
Mint
7 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Avendus-Hurun U30 Youngest leaders 2025 list: Zepto co-founders take crown; check full list
Avendus Wealth-Hurun India have released their U30 List for 2025, which recognises 79 young leaders in India, aged 30 and below, 'who are redefining the future of Indian enterprise'. The list also includes some of the youngest entrepreneurs. According to Apurva Sahijwani, MD and CEO of Avendus Wealth Management the most striking shift in such leadership lists over the years is the age of entrepreneurs. 'Today's founders are starting earlier, scaling faster and bringing a global perspective to everything they do. In the process, they are transforming industries and expanding India's presence on the world stage,' Sahijwani noted. The list curates two catgories of leaders — visonary first-generation founders valued at $25 million or more, and dynamic next-generation leaders with Wealth of at least $50 million. Anas Rahman Junaid, Founder and Chief Researcher of Hurun India added that with the U30 list, they 'aim to shine a spotlight on the most driven and inspiring young leaders of our time'. "These are the founders who are reshaping India's economic future with bold ideas and sheer determination. It's incredible to see the maturity and scale that many of them have achieved even before the age of 30,' he added. Top 10 Avendus-Hurun U30 Entrepreneurs List 2025 Hailing the 'rise of India's youngest visionaries', the list noted that at only 22 years old, Kaivalya Vohra and Aadit Palicha, the co-founders of Zepto take up the top spot alongside AVR Shree Smaran, the Director at AVR Swarna Mahal Jewellers and Arjun Deshpande, the co-founder of Generic Aadhaar. These founders 'stand out as the youngest leaders in the list, leading innovative ventures across industries, from quick commerce and retail traditional jewellery to affordable healthcare', it added. Top 10 Youngest Entrepreneurs Featured in the U30 List 2025 66 out of 79 entrepreneurs are first-generation founders, spotlighting India's surge of self-made ambition. Average age on the U30 list is 28, showcasing the youthful leadership driving the future. Mumbai leads with 15 featured entrepreneurs, reaffirming its dominance as India's financial capital. Notably, among states, Maharashtra leads the way with 21 entrants, reaffirming its position as the epicentre of emerging leaders. 22-year-old Kaivalya Vohra from Mumbai, co-founder of quick commerce startup Zepto, is the youngest co-founder on the U30 list in 2025. While 28-year-old Devika Gholap, founder of digital pathology OptraSCAN, is the youngest woman in this year's U30 cohort. With 8 alumni featured, BITS Pilani leads all undergraduate institutions, followed by IIT Roorkee and IIT Delhi with six each. And software products and services emerges as the most represented industry, with 21 entrepreneurs, followed by 12 in consumer goods and 9 in financial services.
