Asset Protection is the proactive planning by you the wise investor in order to protect your hard earned assets from future creditors or judgments.
Over 19 million new lawsuits are filed in the United States every year, many of which are frivolous or settled for sums greater than the actual liability.
Business owners, professionals such as doctors, dentists, lawyers and accountants, as well as property owners in particular should be aware of the risks associated with conduction their business, practicing in their respective fields, and taking responsibility for others.
Without a massive overhaul of our legal system, the risk and potential liability is not going to decline in fact it is expected to increase. Assets can be at risk due to a number of vulnerabilities, including:
- Professional malpractice liability
- Personal liability of corporate officers and directors
- Lawsuits by former business partners
- Personal injury suffered on your premises
- Personal injury resulting from a motor vehicle accident
- Liability as guarantor for the debts of another
- Liability arising from misconduct
Asset Protection Planning is not about giving in to fear. It is about empowering yourself in the face of it. At Wealth & Legacy Counsel and Estate Planning Redefined we work with clients to implement proven, legally sound strategies that will preserve their wealth and safeguard their assets.
We represent professionals, small business owners, property owners, investors and high net worth individuals and other clients with the goal of protecting their assets against potential litigation, judgments, liens, and fraud. We know how to evaluate current client holdings and work with our clients to identify the best ways to legally protect those holdings, from a variety of creditors, whether through civil suits involving negligence or malpractice.
Insurance alone does not always adequately protect against all of these threats. We help clients protect their wealth using a variety of strategies including the use of special trusts, business entities and other legal arrangements.
Asset Protection Planning Process
The asset protection planning process involves a series of legal strategies that will deter lawsuits or help prevent the seizure of your assets after a judgment. Having a legal well-devised strategic plan will create “firewalls” forcing your legal opponents to quickly recognize the difficulty of pursuing a claim and impossibility of collecting. By exploring the alternative legal structures available and applicable to your case you can place your assets into a financial fortress that is virtually judgment-proof.
Typically your asset protection plan may include several legal structures, using various alternatives including:
Domestic Asset Protection Trusts
Limited Liability Corporations
Family Limited Partnerships
Equity Stripping & Asset Isolation
Offshore Asset Protection Trusts
Offshore U S Grantor Trust
Life Insurance Trusts
Qualified Primary Residence Trust
Nevada, Wyoming or Delaware:
- C-Corporation
- Asset-Protection LLC
- Family Limited Partnership
These are among some of the asset protection legal strategies designed to make it complicated, if not impossible, for your assets to be taken or a judgment collected. They are designed to insure your privacy and provide protection from creditors, judgments, divorce, and other undesirable predators of your assets.
First, advanced asset protection planning is not intended to defraud creditors, they are tools intended to protect and form a financial fortress
We at Wealth & Legacy Counsel and Estate Planning Redefined are of the opinion that the most favorable statutory structures are those offered by Nevada, Alaska, Wyoming, Delaware.
A creditor who initiates litigation against a person who has placed his or her assets into a trust, a foundation, or other entity may find that there are very few collectible assets actually owned by the person they wish to sue. Assets owned by a properly structured trust, foundation, or other legal entities are generally not subject to claims against their beneficiaries. Additionally, placing assets into an asset protection entity may have the additional benefit of removing those assets from a person’s taxable estate.
At Wealth & Legacy Counsel and Estate Planning Redefined, we will provide you various legal options and employ a variety of legal techniques that are implemented to deter creditors from pursuing you, and more importantly to aggravate them if they attempt to do so. The process of devising the best asset protection plan, takes into consideration an analysis of all your assets both exempt and non-exempt assets during planning. With the an interdisciplinary approach to asset protection we will work as a team with your/investors’ financial advisors and CPA’s to devise the best plan for you.
Effectiveness & Control of Assets
Asset Protection Planning has proven to work. It is more effective when the investor has the foresight to do advanced planning and set up the asset protection strategies in advance of a lawsuit. The asset protection plan is stronger the longer it has been in place. It is far more difficult to protect your assets after the fact, i.e. once you have been sued.
For the most part a well drafted and strategically devised plan will allow you the same or similar control over your assets, capital, real estate, etc. while minimizing and removing the risk that it can be taken away in the event of a lawsuit.
Asset Protection Planning & Revocable Living Trusts
Estate planning and creating a Revocable Living Trust, is the first step towards organizing and transferring your property and creating your legacy. The secondary concern is whether or not the recipient of your gifts and legacy, be it your spouse, children or grandchildren and their respective future spouses will jeopardize the property. The primary importance of establishing your Living Trust is Taxes and avoiding Probate, both of which will dissipate the value of your assets up to 65%.
It is important to note that while forming your revocable living trust, you avoid probate and transfer assets to your trust, those assets are still available to creditors. Living Trusts are not effective asset protection shields, they are important as they are the first step. All a judgment creditor has to do is seek a charging order by petitioning the court before the creditor can access the assets in your trust. A revocable living trust is not a preferred asset protection tool. The assets protection strategies mentioned above are effective tools for the purposes of asset protection and creation of a financial fortress.
BEWARE OF SCAMS
There are a numerous scams offered to consumers through consultants and the Internet. Although they sound attractive and inexpensive, the scams can land you in serious hot water with the IRS, with serious consequences including massive fines and/or jail time. Asset Protection Planning and Financial Planning needs to be conducted with experienced and qualified professionals who know the law and conduct planning in accordance with all legal requirements.
As Benjamin Franklin succinctly said, there are two thing in life that are certain, “death and taxes.” Paying taxes is the responsibility of each individual. If at any time your asset protection plan involves underreporting or no reporting to the IRS, you can bet that your plan could land you in jeopardy.
We at Wealth & Legacy Counsel and Estate Planning Redefined, only recommend legal measures that can help you, transfer your wealth, safeguard your wealth, thereby creating a legacy, so you can have peace of mind. If at any time your planner informs you that you can avoid tax liability because “the government will never know,” GET UP AND LEAVE. IMMEDIATELY!
The exact strategies employed by our firm may vary depending on the client, the nature of the assets, the country of origin, and the tax regulations that apply to those assets. The ultimate goal is to protect the status of current assets in a manner that is effective and ethical.
Beware of Cheap Do it Yourself Scams
Remember you get what you paid for!