By Candace Taylor | Wall Street Journal
In 2011, Texas financier Wilbur Edwin “Ed” Bosarge and his wife of 22 years, Marie Bosarge, used a trust to buy, for about $45 million, a flat on Belgrave Square in London, an area nicknamed “Billionaire Square.” Mrs. Bosarge said she then set about decorating the home with the help of interior designers.
Flying back and forth between London and Houston over the next two years, she said she hand-selected furnishings, such as wallpaper in a nautical “Tradewinds” pattern in a nod to the couple’s love of sailing. She even ordered custom wooden trays for the kitchen monogrammed with the names Ed and Marie.
She said she never got to see them.
“Big companies often use a complex series of subsidiary entities to protect assets and allocate or fragment risk. And, some of these asset protection mechanisms can be incorporated into the marital estate. Assuming the seeking party can find the assets, ultimately ,whether or not a party will be entitled to at least a portion of the value of these assets will often come down to timing of acquisition and whether or not the parties have any written agreement describing or disclaiming their rights to such assets.” ~Audra Petrolle, Attorney at Rose Law Group
