Texas is famous for being one of the most business-friendly states in the country. This may lead you to believe that your assets are safer in the Lone Star State than elsewhere. That’s simply not the case.
Contrary to what some might think, Texas is one of the most litigious states in the country. Its pro-business environment contributes to much of its litigation. Of the more than 1.5 million cases filed each year, many of them involve commercial disputes.
Luckily, your lawsuit risk can be alleviated with the help of a Texas asset protection attorney. These legal pros can keep your wealth safe by setting up barriers between creditors and your money.
Want to find out why you should hire an asset protection attorney in Texas? Read on to learn more:
- What Texas Asset Protection Attorneys Do
- How Texas Laws Impact Asset Protection
- Major Threats to Your Wealth in Texas
- People Who Need a Texas Asset Protection Attorney Most
- Qualities to Look for When Selecting an Asset Protection Attorney in Texas
What Texas Asset Protection Attorneys Do
Texas asset protection attorneys help safeguard your wealth from lawsuits, creditors, divorce, and other threats. To do this, they set up structures that make it impossible for others to secure your assets if you lose a lawsuit.
Most importantly, an asset protection attorney in Texas will customize their strategy around Texas’s laws.
<h3>Key Asset Protection Tools
An attorney will use a tailored set of financial and legal structures to protect your assets. Three of the most commonly used tools include:
- Asset Protection Trusts: Asset protection trusts (APTs) are a style of trust designed to protect assets from creditors. They do this by legally separating you from your assets and placing your wealth beyond a creditor’s reach – even if they win a lawsuit against you. The most effective trusts are established overseas and can defy U.S. court orders.
- Limited Liability Companies (LLCs): An LLC divides your wealth into business and personal assets. If someone sues your company, you will be protected, and vice versa.
- Land Trusts: Land trusts keep your property records private. They prevent contingency fee lawyers from finding your name in public records and bringing a lawsuit against you.
How Texas Laws Impact Asset Protection
Texas offers a key wealth protection benefit that many states lack: an excellent homestead exemption. This provision allows you to make your primary residence immune to forced sale by a creditor.
What makes Texas’s homestead exemption exceptional is that there’s no value cap. Most states limit how much of your home can be protected. For example, California only allows homeowners to protect up to $600,000 of their home’s value (annually adjusted for inflation). In Texas, you could have a multi-million-dollar mansion, and every cent would be covered under the homestead exemption.
In Texas, the main limit on homestead protection is the size of the property. This provision only covers properties up to 10 acres in urban areas. Rural homesteads can be up to 200 acres for families or 100 acres for single adults.
Major Threats to Your Wealth in Texas
In Texas, lawsuits are the most pressing threat to your wealth. However, they aren’t the only eventuality to prepare for. Your asset protection strategy should be ready to defend against:
- Creditors and debt collectors: Debt collectors can take you to court to recoup their losses. If you don’t have your assets in a professionally established APT, they can take almost everything you own.
- Divorce: Even if you have a prenuptial agreement in place, your wealth is still at risk. Prenups can be picked apart by capable attorneys. It’s best to have an asset protection plan to defend against asset loss during a divorce.
- Frivolous lawsuits: Many contingency fee law firms make their living suing wealthy individuals. Anyone without protection could find themselves on the receiving end of a life-altering lawsuit, even if they did nothing wrong.
- Business disputes: A business agreement gone wrong can lead to lawsuits. Without an asset protection strategy, these cases can drain your business and personal bank accounts.
People Who Need a Texas Asset Protection Attorney Most
Everyone can benefit from working with an asset protection attorney in Texas, but some need their services more than others, specifically:
- Business owners & entrepreneurs: The more successful you become, the more likely you are to be sued.
- Doctors, dentists, and licensed professionals: Malpractice lawsuits can be extremely expensive. Unfortunately, contingency fee law firms love to file these lucrative cases. The only way to fully protect yourself is with the help of an asset protection attorney.
- Real estate investors: Real estate sales are public. Law firms often use sales records to locate and sue wealthy investors for a quick win.
Qualities to Look for When Selecting an Asset Protection Attorney
When your money is on the line, you want the best attorney in your corner. To find the right one, look into the services they offer and their reputation with past clients. During your research, keep an eye out for attorneys who:
- Have spent their career working in asset protection, not general law.
- Engage with high-risk clients (business owners, professionals, investors).
- Use Texas law to their advantage when crafting asset protection strategies.
Prioritizing attorneys with these qualities increases your likelihood of finding reliable legal representation. However, you can always reach out to Asset Protection Planners to skip the boring research process. Our team of asset protection professionals has been developing wealth defense strategies for decades.
Call Asset Protection Planners to Keep Your Wealth Safe in Texas
Anyone looking to keep their money safe needs an asset protection attorney. With their help, you can defend your wealth from virtually any threat.
Don’t wait until lawyers and creditors are knocking on your door. Schedule a consultation with Asset Protection Planners today to protect what you’ve worked so hard to earn.
