Definition:
Asset protection planning is the process of arranging one's, or a business's, financial affairs in advance to guard against risks the assets might otherwise be subject.1
Objectives:
The objective of asset protection planning is for the client to "weather a legal storm" better than they would have had such client not engaged in any asset protection planning.2 In comparison to an estate plan, an asset protection plan protects a client's assets while he or she is alive; where an estate plan transfers the client's assets to his or her spouse and children at the time of death.
1 Engel, Lockwood, & Merric, The Asset Protection Planning Guide, Commerce Clearing House (CCH), 2000, p. 2.
2 Id. at p. 4.
The Pertinence of Asset Protection Planning:
| Asset protection planning must be done before there is a legal crisis. It is very similar to buying fire insurance in that it is very hard to buy fire insurance for an estate that has already burned down. |
Family Limited Partnership Video
Domestic Asset Protection Trust Video
Offshore Asset Protection Trust Video
