Knowing the value of hard work, you should realize that your assets deserve proper security. Assets not only come in cash form but also purchased properties that require liquidation in time. They can be your business, home, the family car, rental properties, or land. Since you can pass them on to your family or any preferred heir, protecting them should be one of your priorities.
Why Secure Your Assets Today
Don’t wait until the day comes that you need to protect your assets. Consequences only come later on, especially when you’re not prepared. You can check milehighestateplanning.com/asset-protection-trusts and inquire about a specialist to know where you stand and what they can do for your assets.
The following should motivate you to take steps in protecting what belongs to you.
1. Prevents Creditors From Taking Your Home
If you’re not able to pay off a loan of equal value, the family home is always the first asset that creditors will look into possessing.
You can check if your state values Homestead Exemption, which protects the home from creditors and prevents them from enforcing its sale. The state also relieves the surviving spouse off of property tax. This legal provision, however, doesn’t apply if you decide to default on your mortgage.
Homeowners should also take advantage of the Domestic Asset Protection Company (DAPT). It allows you to set a preferred beneficiary who can access the funds under the protection of the irrevocable trust. The DAPT is only beneficial when funded with assets, such as cash, LLCs, and real estate. The beneficiary must also be within the same state or jurisdiction.
2. Brings Focus On Business Properties Instead Of Personal Assets
Any entrepreneur should have the sense to shield assets from litigation and creditors by separating personal properties from their businesses. That way, lawyers can only go after what your business covers and not everything else that’s under your name.
In this case, you’re encouraged to exploit the use of the Limited Liability Company (LLC). The structure protects the owners from being accountable for the liabilities and the lawsuits of the company. Check out the best LLC services from here. The owners, who are also the members, are safe from paying the debts of the company, which means that they don’t have to liquidate any assets belonging to them to pay any debts or damages.
3. Keeps Former Spouses From Possessing Your Properties
A marriage document entitles your spouse to anything you own. So, they can get half of everything, even if you were the only one who worked hard for most of the assets. Fortunately, in the case of a divorce, you can use trusts and other means to keep properties from being transferred to your ex-spouse.
If there are specific assets that you’d rather keep solely in your name, you can put them in an offshore asset protection trust. You basically transfer your assets out of your name and put them into an offshore account, which can be in the name of an established international LLC. You then decide who the beneficiaries are, as well as the trustee and settlors. When the local court demands the money, and the trustee refuses to, the former can’t do anything about it because it’s legally protected by the trust company.
Keep in mind to transfer cash assets while you’re still with your spouse. The trust activates an international LLC where your savings and investments are under the protection of a foreign bank.
Remember to include offshore accounts in your investment portfolios so that your lawyer has knowledge of them.
4. Protects Against Expensive Costs Of Nursing Homes
Nursing home residency can cost you an arm and a leg. Even so if you have no idea how long you’ll have to stay in the health care facility.
If you don’t have an estate planning in place, nursing homes can come after your family home as payment, especially if your assets are running low. To prevent the nursing facility from grabbing your property, you can either reward or gift your properties to living relatives, or include them in a legally binding will.
You can award some of your property as gifts because they will not be in your name anymore. Placing them in a will keeps your property safe even after death. Thus, it’s important to learn how to write a will during the accumulative years in your 20s to 40s. The property might be subject to taxation by the government, but you’re leaving something behind to your loved ones.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are various ways you can protect your assets by exploiting accounts where you can put your money into. The state you live, and even offshore, will have laws and regulations that can protect you and your family from losing everything. All it takes is doing your part on both the legal and business sectors so you don’t stray away from the right side of the law while securing what’s yours.