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Page Why Do Asset Protection? The current litigation explosion
in our society is forcing professionals, small business owners
as well as the common homeowner to focus on ways to protect
their savings, investments and other accumulated assets that
have become attractive targets for hungry and unscrupulous attorneys. The U.S. legal system stacks the deck against
the defendant and is in favor of the plaintiff. This is especially
true if the plaintiff has deep pockets to pursue you. U.S. judges
are also not always competent to handle the cases that come
to them. Many times judges issue judgments that are not just
and fair. The average person will be sued five times
in their lifetime and faces the very real prospect of being
on the receiving end of a ruinous judgment. Failure to plan
for that contingency can result in the instant loss of a lifetime's
accumulated wealth. Once a suit has been filed or one is anticipated,
the law frowns upon moving assets. Although, assets may be moved
under certain conditions, it is always better to mover while
the waters are still calm. How Do They Find Your Assets? How does a lawyer find something you have
of value? Very easily. They hire one of many firms that specialize
in locating assets for attorneys. They can locate bank accounts,
real estate, brokerage accounts, auto, businesses etc. all in
your name. In fact, many times a contingency fee attorney will
do an asset search on you before he even bothers to sue you.
He wants to make sure you have something of value before he
spends his time and money. There is little about your personal
and financial well being that cannot be found. However, if the
assets are not in your name and are instead listed in the name
of a corporation, trust or partnership finding them becomes
much more difficult (if not impossible) and expensive for the
plaintiff's lawyer. How to Minimize Your Assets How do your minimize the chances of losing
assets? By becoming a smaller target. How do you become a smaller
target? By shrinking the size of your estate so that you do
as John D. Rockefeller said "Own nothing and control everything".
That is the key. You of course, do not want to give up control
but you can give up ownership in such a way that a plaintiff
will give up and look for greener pastures. This is done through
a combination of domestic and foreign structures. Be careful
not to do the "poor man's asset protection" Transferring
assets to your brother, sister, mother, or friend is not a good
idea. It is extremely transparent to a plaintiff attorney and
it will result in serious IRS tax problems. Are These Techniques Legal? Absolutely! Asset protection has been practiced
by the rich for decades. They use these very tools and strategies
that we are discussing. They are legal, effective and can give
you the peace of mind you have earned. Why Won't My Attorney Help Me? Asset protection is not taught in law
school. Also if an attorney is not careful he or she can lose
their license if it appears that they assisted a client in hiding
assets. For that reason there are only a handful of attorneys
that assist their clients in this area. Most attorneys have
an outside firm such as ours provide the service for them. Start building your finiancial
fortress NEXT
National
Business Incorporators, Inc.
Direct: (760) 774.2340 Fax: (760) 406.9331 E-mail: National
Business Incorporators, Inc. We look forward to serving
you! |