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Asset Protection
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Don't you think it's time to worry about your Assets?
An important part of high end finances and investment is Asset Protection. An Asset Protection system is a
system of legal practices that people use to protect their assets from legal judgments. In effect, a guaranteed
Asset Protection system should make one s assets judgment proof. There is personal Asset Protection and business
Asset Protection, although it is often found in business, where more money is involved.
The basic principle of Asset Protection is based upon the fact that a person or business that has assets can
potentially lose portions of those assets to creditors. When those people and businesses no longer own those
assets, they cannot be reached by creditors. That is the goal of asset protection strategies. There are various
Asset Protection strategies that are meant to remove the legal title to a person s or business assets while still
allowing all the benefits of those assets.
The best Asset Protection strategy should be enacted before there is really a need for it, but this is not how
it usually plays out. After a lawsuit is filed by a creditor, many people can still engage in Asset Protection
planning. Asset protection planning may be considered a fraudulent transfer at this point, but there is usually no
downside to Asset Protection planning, as it can simply be set aside. A person or business in debt to a creditor
may have nothing to lose by simple Asset Protection planning.
There are many Asset Protection strategies in the United States. The various asset protection plans are based on
the needs of the person or business. The Asset protection system that is best for a specific party will depend on
the nature of the asset that is being protected, such as rental real estate, personal residences, bank accounts and
retirement plans. The timing of a claim or lawsuit will also decide the best asset protection strategy, as well as
the risk adversity of the debtor and the aggressiveness of the creditor.
People seeking Asset Protection of their house, for example, have approximately seven different asset protection
options according to some legal finance experts. They may transfer ownership to a living trust with a generic name,
or transfer ownership to an irrevocable trust to ensure personal . They may also encumber the residence, record a
naked deed of trust, sell the residence to a family member with an installment plan, or even sell the residence to
a stranger for cash. These are all completely legal personal Asset Protection strategies.
Asset Protection Strategies amd Asset Protection Living Trusts also considering, Asset Protection Entity
Structuring.
Assets owned by a debtor through a legal entity are not deemed owned by the debtor because legal entities have a
separate juridical existence. Asset Protection is based on the basic principle that any asset owned by a person
(with some minor exceptions, like an ERISA-qualified retirement plan) can be reached by that person's creditor.
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