Only the very wealthy and those in high-risk professions need asset protection planning, right?
In reality, we all need asset protection. Why? Because we all can be sued and lose everything we have. A car accident, business failure, foreclosure, medical crisis, or injured tenant can result in a monetary judgment that will decimate your client’s finances.
This month our goal is to provide an overview of asset protection planning fundamentals to illustrate how planning can benefit all of your clients, not just the wealthy and not just doctors, lawyers, and real estate investors.
In its most basic form, asset protection planning is the process of taking assets that are vulnerable to creditors, predators, and lawsuits and positioning or repositioning them as assets that are less vulnerable or, ideally, are not vulnerable at all.
Planning Tip: Invite Your Clients to Work with an Experienced Advisory Team
At first glance asset protection planning may appear to be straightforward; however, asset protection strategies hold traps for novice planners.
Therefore, it is imperative that clients work with an advisory team, specializing in asset protection strategies. Each client’s individual risks and benefits must be fully assessed and clients assured that the plan they ultimately put in place will work.
Many of your clients may already be taking advantage of basic asset protection strategies and not even realize it.
For example, the first line of defense against liability is insurance, including homeowner’s, automobile, business, professional, malpractice, long-term care, and umbrella policies.
Clients need to review their insurance policies on an annual basis to confirm that coverage is sufficient and important benefits have not been stripped from their policies to maintain premiums.
Another type of basic planning, available in some states, is a joint ownership between married couples called “tenants by the entirety” (TBE). A creditor of just one spouse cannot attach a judgment to the couple’s TBE property.
The rules for creating TBE ownership vary widely among the states that recognize it.
Because TBE benefits will be wiped out if a judgment is entered against both spouses or if one spouse dies, this type of ownership should not be the centerpiece of a married couple’s asset protection plan.
Another type of basic planning clients are probably already taking advantage of is holding a portion of their assets in a 401(k) or IRA.
Planning Tip: Know Your State’s Asset Protection Rules
Be knowledgeable about which assets are and are not protected from creditors. This knowledge will help you move the needle forward on asset protection planning discussions with clients who are already taking advantage of basic strategies but really need a more sophisticated plan.
Clients who need to go beyond basic asset protection planning must understand that sophisticated planning involves more give than take.
To make property untouchable, or, at the very least, more difficult for creditors to seize, sophisticated asset protection planning will often involve a layering of multiple techniques, including:
Planning Tip: Since the laws governing limited liability business entities and irrevocable trusts vary from state to state and country to country and these laws are constantly in flux, the use of advanced strategies requires the expertise of legal advisors who understand all of the applicable laws of fraudulent transfers and specialize in the implementation and maintenance of sophisticated asset protection plans.
First, clients require your assistance so they are aware they need asset protection planning.
Second, they must understand that, to be effective, an asset protection plan must be put in place before a lawsuit arises. An asset protection plan is not a quick fix for existing legal problems.
In fact, there may a period of time before an asset protection plan becomes effective (these time frames vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction), and under bankruptcy laws there is a 10-year look back for transfers into certain types of trusts.
We’d like to team up with you to offer comprehensive asset protection planning, and we are ready to answer your planning questions. We are happy to help you advise your clients on their options for implementing an asset protection plan that will work.
Please call our office now to set up a complimentary, no obligation meeting.