Considerations of Asset Protection Planning
Asset protection planning is for all of us. Most of us work hard for our money and what we own. It takes a portion of a lifetime to grow wealth and it can take a couple of months to undo it all. The event of becoming a defendant in a lawsuit is an instant, one moment your assets are safe, and the next, they can be in jeopardy.
The act of protecting your assets is more or less a form of insurance. Just as we drive to work without the expectation of getting into an accident, should an accident occur, there is the security knowing that you are insured. The same principle applies to your assets.
If you own a home, a car, retirement funds, stocks and bank accounts, what is insuring those from being taken away by a legal predator? Asset Protection is the act of putting legal tools in place to insure that your wealth is protected in the event of a lawsuit.
Asset protection plans range in cost, depending on the level of protection, these are generally a one-time cost between less than $2000 up to $9999, or more. The cost of attorney fees to respond to litigation could outweigh your cost of an entire plan, not to mention the cost of a long court battle.
Results of Asset Protection Plans
When you are sued or being pursued legally, anything that you own is subject to seizure, this includes your homes, business equity, cars, stocks, bank accounts, real estate and other investments. Anything tied to your name is fair game in a legal battle. By transferring title of the assets to a separate legal entity or structure, you remove the property from your name. You still control 100% of your assets, however you don't, technically, "own" them. This is the first step, separating your name from your asset titles.
If your assets are still pursued by a persistent opponent, in these extreme cases, offshore strategies offer the most protection. In the event of a US legal battle, if your assets are tied up in domestic business entities, they are still within reach of a US court ruling. By having your assets in offshore legal structures, or stronger asset protection plan, the US court ruling isn't worth the paper it's printed on. Your assets are protected by foreign laws, some established solely for this purpose.