ASSET PROTECTION PLANNING

Asset protection planning involves structuring financial affairs and holdings in a manner to protect the assets from claims by future creditors, litigants, and family members. A well-constructed asset protection plan enables you to preserve your wealth for yourself and your heirs by using legal techniques that will deter outside entities from pursuing or gaining access to your assets through frivolous claims. Asset protection planning allows you to segregate and insulate liabilities and assets to the greatest extent allowed by law. This may be done by setting up trusts, corporations, partnerships, and other entities to hold legal title to the assets that you control.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ASSET PROTECTION

Today’s society is extremely litigious and any person with a comfortable net worth should be concerned about the possibility of frivolous lawsuits. Regardless of how modest your holdings may be, if you own anything, you are at risk of losing it by being the target of litigation. It is possible that should you lose a lawsuit and have a judgment against you personally, a creditor could collect against future income and assets once they are acquired or received. An individualized asset protection plan can significantly reduce liability risks. Once your plan is in place, thousands of dollars can also be saved on future legal fees. A well structured asset protection plan will frustrate potential litigators from filing claims as collecting a judgment will be difficult.

As we know, life events will bring with them highs and lows in your financial circumstances. By beginning a lifelong process of evaluating and taking control of your financial worth, you will be better prepared to anticipate economic opportunities as they arise and better prepared for the contingencies that may occur.

Although asset protection planning has most commonly been used to dissuade frivolous lawsuits, there are additional benefits to planning. For example, in recent years there have been rashes of financial crimes that include identity theft and other schemes. Placing valuable assets in another name or by reporting under a different identifier than your social security number offers a layer of protection from falling prey to criminal activity.

The first step in the planning process is to take inventory of your assets, including property, investments, income, and any potential inheritances. Then you will need to determine and quantify areas of risk. Once this is accomplished, the Esquire Group team of professionals will collaborate with you to determine your personal degree of exposure and develop a personalized strategy to achieve your short and long term goals. Once again, it is imperative that the plan be periodically monitored and adjusted to adapt to your changing circumstances.

PRIVACY

Another advantage of asset protection planning is in the privacy it offers. Through the use of trusts and other entities you can conduct your business affairs discreetly. If your assets are held in a name other than your own, the likelihood of others discovering those assets belong to you will decrease. A well designed asset protection plan will include provisions allowing for privacy. Esquire Group believes that privacy is an important consideration in the formation of an asset protection plan, but all such plans must be in full compliance with laws and regulations. We will recommend the most secure strategies for your protection, relying on techniques that have been tested and have proved to be effective.