A good estate plan will ensure that your assets and liabilities are given to your family and loved ones in a way that helps them. It can also assist you in avoiding probate court proceedings. An estate planning lawyer can help you create a customized plan to suit your needs. This could mean setting up trusts and wills or making living trusts. It tells in detail how your property should be protected and how it should be divided after you die
What is asset protection?
In finance, “asset protection” means putting in place safeguards to keep valuable assets from being lost. Asset protection is to prevent creditors from seizing a person’s possessions. Asset protection strategies are based on debtor-creditor law. It helps people and businesses make it harder for creditors to take valuable assets.
Creating asset protection strategies with estate planning lawyers can stop illegal activities. This includes hiding money, transferring money without permission, not paying taxes, and filing for bankruptcy while committing fraud.
Tenants, in their entirety, are a way to protect your assets if you own property with someone else. When a married couple owns property together as tenants in its entirety, they have a claim to the whole piece of property, not just parts of it.
Since both partners own the property, creditors who have liens or other claims against one partner cannot use the property to try to get their money back. If a creditor has a claim against both spouses, the “tenants by entirety” rules won’t stop the creditor from going after the asset.
click here – Knocked Back From The Big Banks? Why Private Lending Could Be Your Solution.
5 Steps to Protect Your Assets with Estate Planning Lawyer’s Help
Assets can be anything from money and intellectual property to personal information. There are many ways to protect assets, but one must know the risks and how they can be mitigated. Take these methods from estate planning lawyers:
-
Set up a business to protect assets.
A sole proprietorship runs a small business or does freelance work. But he doesn’t have a formal business structure like an LLC or corporation. Since you are the only “single proprietor,” a lawsuit could put your personal assets at risk. In a partnership, you must consider what each partner does.
-
Level up your liability insurance.
Insurance that protects them from being sued is important for doctors, accountants, and lawyers. These types of liability insurance pay for your losses and your defense in court. If you have enough insurance, the policy can pay for the other person’s damages. You won’t have to worry about a lawsuit that could threaten your personal assets. If the plaintiff takes the money from your insurance company, they can’t sue you or the insurance company for more money.
A joint bank account with a child, an elderly parent, or a business partner is subject to fraud. The entire account may be lost if one of the account’s joint owners gets divorced, is hit with tax liens, or loses a lawsuit.
-
Don’t let renters hurt you.
If you own rental property or plan to invest in one, it’s a good idea to form a legal business company, like an LLC or corporation. This is to protect your other assets from a litigious renter. If your renter sues you for $5 million, the court can only go after the assets of the real estate holding company, not yours. Let an estate planning lawyer help you.
-
Make informal partnerships official.
Alliances between businesses are like time bombs. Why? If you use a joint account, you are both responsible for what the other person does. Unlike a shared bank account, though, if your spouse gets sued, your whole financial situation could be at risk.
Why You Need an Estate Planning Attorney
An estate planning lawyer or a probate lawyer helps you plan your estate by writing down your wishes in case you become sick or die. Here are the services offered by asset protection lawyers:
- Creating legal documents like wills and trusts and putting them into action;
- Naming the people who will get the money and making a durable power of attorney;
- Getting together with close family and friends of the people involved in an estate;
- Organizing and setting up the transfer of assets to the rightful heirs and beneficiaries;
- Figuring out ways to lower taxes or fees on an estate (this requires knowledge of taxes);
- Putting limits on an estate (only when necessary) to make sure the wishes of the person who died are carried out;
- Taking care of retirement plans, life insurance, and donations to charity.
click here – Crypto Recovery – Can We Expect It Soon?
Start with an Estate Planning Lawyer now
Lawyers for will and estate plans work together to ensure your family is taken care of no matter what happens. We’ll help guide you through the process of getting everything in order. We protect your loved ones from unnecessary stress.
Estate planning is a process in which a person or family who wishes to preserve their assets and protect their loved ones extensively plans to distribute their property at death. It includes, among other things, wills, trusts, healthcare directives, and other estate planning documents.
When someone dies, their property often has to go through an expensive probate process. This is especially true if they didn’t leave a will or if the value of their estate is high. Having an experienced probate lawyer and estate planning lawyer can help you avoid expensive judgments and lawsuits. We can make your job as executor of an estate less stressful
Due to disease, old age, or other factors, our loved ones may lose their capacity to make decisions for themselves. Our estate planning lawyers understand how difficult it can be to go through the guardianship or conservatorship process now. We are here to help.
Based on your specific situation, we offer competitive rates for estate planning services. Contact us today for a free consultation with one of our estate planning lawyers to find out more.