Asset Protection

The great irony of asset protection is that, in order to protect our assets, we must first give them away! The law provides more opportunity for married couples to protect their assets than unmarried individuals. We help spouses to arrange their affairs in a way that may result in better protection from creditors, judgments and lawsuits. NOTE: No asset protection strategy can be guaranteed to deliver any specific results. Instead, the strategy revolves around the notion of building a wall of protection around our assets high enough to deter would-be predators from taking our hard-earned wealth.

Marital QTIPs ~ QTIP = Qualified Terminal Interest Property 
The first level of asset protection is to divide joint or community property into two separate halves, one owned by the Husband, the other owned by the Wife as their separate property. Thus theoretically, if one Spouse is sued, only their half of the assets can be attached. After splitting the joint marital property in half, the Spouses give each other the right to receive all income from their respective QTIP trusts for life. 

Marital QPRTs ~ QPRT = Qualified Personal Residence Trust
Married couples can protect one primary residence and one vacation property from creditors, judgments and lawsuits by gifting their property to their children in exchange for the right to live in the properties rent-free for a period of years, usually determined by the couple's life expectancy. 

LLCs ~ LLC = Limited Liability Company
LLCs can provide asset protection by separating our business assets from our personal assets. For example, if a rental property is owned by an LLC, and someone is injured on the premises and a judgment is awarded, the award is theoretically limited to the asset in the LLC, sparing the other business and personal assets.  NOTE: If a corporate entity does not possess certain records as required by law, the corporate 'veil' of protection may be pierced, exposing other assets to peril.