Asset-protection planning is the process of employing legally acceptable concepts and strategies to ensure a person's wealth is not unjustly taken from him or her. The objectives of asset-protection planning are really quite simple:
First, it is intended to mitigate the possibility of being sued by motivating a Creditor to settle. In effect, a creditor and his or her attorneys will recognize the situation for what it is and a lawsuit will be avoided.
Second, in the case of a lawsuit, the objective is to minimize or even eliminate the financial effect of a judgment against the defendant. Although a creditor may have prevailed in the lawsuit, the financial burden is greatly mitigated by assets legitimately not available to satisfy the judgment.
Asset-protection planning is about being able to stand up in court and justify that the way one’s wealth is organized and the manner in which assets are transferred into various legal structures such as trusts, partnerships and corporate entities, is not only appropriate but also economically or legally sound and reasonable given the personal, professional and financial situation. |