Asset Protection

An asset protection attorney using tools such as asset protection trust can help shield your property from litigation. Think your assets are safe since you’re an unlikely target? Unfortunately, an American has a 33 percent chance of defending himself in a lawsuit at least once in his life, according to www.insuranceqanda.com. You don’t have to be famous or incredibly wealthy for someone to sue you. Everyday people find themselves defendants of lawsuits that can significantly deplete their assets.

 

Hosting a dinner party, operating a business, or even acting as a good Samaritan can land you in the thick of an multi-million dollar lawsuit should someone becomes injured. Defamation cases can arise from simply posting on the Internet or writing a blog. If your child scuffles with another at school, or damages another person’s property, you can be sued.

Defending a case costs thousands. An asset protection attorney can help you preserve your family’s home, finances, real estate and business assets from plaintiffs seeking exorbitant compensation.

Asset protection attorneys help three ways:

• • • By shielding your assets from plaintiffs’ access, you become a less desirable target since you would offer little available compensation in a suit. Asset protection can actually prevent frivolous lawsuits.
    • Asset protection attorneys offer peace of mind. Clearing your name, recovering your business’ reputation, taking care of your home responsibilities, keeping up with work, providing your attorney with information: you’ll have plenty to worry about as a defendant. By keeping your assets off-limits, your asset protection attorney can spare you emotional stress.
    • Asset protection attorneys dramatically improve your outcome should you lose a lawsuit since your most treasured assets remain inaccessible to the plaintiff.

Why leave your hard-earned assets vulnerable? An asset protection attorney protects your possessions through various means such as an asset protection trust. Foreign and domestic asset protection trusts leave you in control of your assets while shielding them from plaintiffs’ grasp.

• • • The foreign asset protection trust is extremely secure; however, it is more expensive than a domestic asset protection trust. A foreign asset protection trust also requires appointing a foreign trustee over the assets and filing a few IRS forms, steps which some people find difficult.
    • Domestic asset protection trusts are not as difficult or expensive to create; however, they’re not recognized by every state.
    • The Bridge Trust(TM) begins as a domestic asset protection trust that can transfer into a foreign asset protection trust should you become the defendant of a lawsuit. The presence of a Bridge Trust(TM) actually deters suits because its rock-solid asset protection.

Asset protection lawyers use other methods to protect assets from lawsuits. Forming a single member limited liability company (LLC) or a multimember limited partnership (LP) can also keep your assets out of the reach of plaintiffs.

• • • The LLC can protect business assets, such as an office building, but not personal possessions. While your businesses may have operated just fine without functioning as LLCs, ask an asset protection lawyer about how to form an LLC to secure your business assets.
    • The multimember LLC protects both personal and business assets. Its biggest benefit lies in that should you lose a lawsuit, the plaintiff receives a charging order protection that grants all distributions made from the multimember LLC. As long as the plaintiff holds the charging order, you can cease distributions while paying your salary for managing the multimember LLC. The charging order leaves the plaintiff responsible for paying the taxes on the multimember LLC. Most plaintiffs’ attorneys drop the case or settle on the defendant’s terms instead of dealing with charging orders. They represent an easy way to protect your personal and business assets.

It’s impossible to eliminate any chance of a lawsuit; however, by retaining an asset protection attorney and using the appropriate asset trust protection and/or LLC, you can significantly reduce your likelihood of suffering property loss.

Why not consult with one of our knowledgeable and friendly asset protection attorneys soon? Contact Harris Guidi Estate Planning today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about how to best protect your wealth. During your no-obligation consultation, you can learn about the options best-suited to keep you and your family safe.