Protecting yourself from lawsuits and sue-happy lawyers.
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Now that you are aware that there are lawyers just waiting to sue you, you may be asking how you can protect yourself and your assets. The only way to avoid losing your assets if you are sued is to be devoid of those assets. Basically, if you own nothing, there is nothing worth suing for. To put it simply, you would need to sign over all your assets to a trusted individual. While this may be an issue for some people, it is truly the only way to protect and save what you worked so hard to earn and achieve. For example, if you own a business, you are at a high risk of being sued. However, if you sign that business over to a trust, you no longer own the business and no longer have the asset. This does not mean you are ridding yourself of the business. You still control the business, but you do not own it.
This is one of the most common ways to protect assets, especially if you have a lot. There are a variety of other tactics people use to protect themselves from being sued and losing their assets. Not all tactics are legal methods, but they are effective nonetheless. Securing assets with loans from members of your family and transferring your current assets to other family members are two popular ways to avoid lawsuits. Many people will choose to place their assets into limited partnerships, irrevocable trusts or into life insurance policies that are owned by someone other than themselves.
Unfortunately, many people are not aware that there are things that can be done to protect yourself and your assets. The above mention methods are only a few of the many ways. Many people have the misconception that the only way money is safe is if it is in an offshore account. While this method is extremely effective, it may be best to weigh all the options before making a decision.
There are many people who believe that offshore trusts and accounts should be the very last method employed, and this is true. The use of an offshore trust is one of the most common devises used by wealthy individuals who want to protect their assets from those lawyers seeking to sue them. Generally, an offshore trust should be the last resort and it is not the only way to protect your assets, nor is it always the most effective. The key to protecting your assets is to find a way to transfer ownership of those assets.
Another misconception is that jointly owned property is safe. This is far from being true. Jointly owned property is an even higher risk. This is because money hungry creditors of either owner can take any property that is held jointly. So, with joint property, you have doubled the chances of getting sued because the creditor can go after either party.
When devising ways to protect your assets, remember that there are simple ways to do this. You do not need to spend a lot of money on legal fees. It can be as simple as transferring ownership of an asset to a trusted person. Asset protection is an important thing to consider, especially since there are so many lawyers waiting around the corner to get their hands on your money.
It is important to take these steps before you are sued. If you are already involved in a lawsuit and then transfer ownership of your assets, it will be deemed a fraudulent conveyance. This means that the courts can repossess the asset from the transferee. Always remember, you must protect your assets before there are any potential lawsuits filed against you. If you wait until the problem arises, it is too late. If you want to begin the steps to protect your assets, seek out a competent lawyer that is familiar with asset protection and who is well versed in the variations of state laws or simply contact Estate Street Partners.
To learn more about how estate planning & trust planning are affected by asset protection strategies visit Asset Protection Trust, Getting Sued Hiding Assets, Offshore Asset Protection, Living Revocable Trust.