About a year ago (May 22, 2015), I wrote a newsletter article highlighting the possibilities of protecting your assets using a relatively new (to Virginia) device called a self-settled asset protection trust. In case you missed the article, a self-settled asset protection trust is a trust that you create well in advance of having creditor issues or sustaining potential liability for some event – be it professional malpractice, a car accident, or an accident in your home. If you are reasonable and transfer only so much of your assets to a self-settled asset protection trust that leaves you with sufficient assets in your name to satisfy your current and foreseeable creditors, you can be a beneficiary of the trust and still obtain creditor protection for the assets transferred into the trust. Creditors cannot sue to set aside the transfer to the self-settled asset protection trust after 5 years in Virginia. The advent of this new planning tool can be a boon to a family who would like to set aside a safety net or nest egg. Unfortunately, for many folks out there, the criteria that we would use to be sure that the protection would be available may be a little out of reach. Either they already have creditor issues or the cost of setting up and maintaining the asset protection trust is too high given the amount they have available to protect. What other solutions do we have to help?
For a married couple, one of the easiest forms of asset protection is to hold title to property as tenants by the entirety. Married couples can hold real and personal property (e.g., homes, and investment and bank accounts) as tenants by the entirety. When assets are held in this fashion, the creditors of one spouse cannot force the sale or partition of the asset held as tenants by the entirety. If the debtor spouse dies first, the surviving spouse takes title to the asset free of the deceased spouse’s creditors’ claims. Of course, if the surviving spouse is the debtor, then upon the death of the first spouse, the asset is available to the creditors. This protection is only available to married couples, and it does not protect the assets from the debts incurred by the spouses jointly (like a mortgage, typically).
Another option and probably one of the most overlooked ways to protect your assets is personal liability umbrella insurance. Approximately 20% of people with considerable wealth do not own one of these policies. An umbrella policy pays after your car and homeowners’ insurance has reached the limits of its coverage. In many cases, that amount may be below $500,000. In the event that a liability award is made against you in excess of the policy limits, your personal assets would be at risk. By purchasing an umbrella policy, you can protect your personal assets to a greater extent. Of course, you need to make some effort to match the amount of coverage in the umbrella policy to your assets with a little cushion to spare in the event of a verdict or settlement slightly in excess of your net worth. For instance, if your net worth is in the $1 million range, it makes sense to obtain an umbrella in the $2 million range. The truly remarkable thing about the umbrella policy is how affordable it is. Insurance for one home, two cars, and two drivers may be well under $500/year for $1 million in umbrella liability.
The attorneys at the Hook Law Center are well versed in asset protection in all its forms and are happy to talk with you about all your options.
ASK LUCIE
(Substituting for Kit Kat this week)
Howdy- Bark again! Phew! It’s been HOT! My owner won’t let me play as hard outside these days– something about getting overheated. I didn’t like what she was telling me, so I played a good old game of ‘nose soccer’ by myself and, boy oh boy, did it do me in!
If it’s too hot for your owner, it’s too hot for us pets! And YOWSER BOWSER that hot sidewalk! If it’s too hot for your owner to walk barefoot, imagine 4 bare (or bear??) feet! Same goes for cars– would your owner sit in a car with the windows barely cracked in a fur coat for very long before using their opposable thumbs to hold the cell phone and dial 9-1-1??? Nope… Pets, lets keep our owners on their toes!!!
Let’s talk hurricane preparedness for pets– Did you now that most shelters do NOT accept pets? I know right??? How insulting! So, if the humans in your family have to leave home and have to seek shelter someplace that we’re not welcome, here are some tips:
- Leave a day ‘s worth of food and PLENTY of water accessible for your pet.
- Write your cell phone (land lines may not be working) number on your pet’s collar in waterproof marker. Include area code!!
- Got a tiny pet/tiny collar? Wrap duct tape around a portion to make a larger writing surface– who cares if it’s fashionable– it will get you found!
- If your pet has a micro-chip, make sure it’s activated and the information on file is up-to-date. Hmm. As she was helping me write this, my human muttered something naughty!
- Make sure the tags on your pet’s collar are current.
- YOU STAND A MUCH BETTER CHANCE OF BEING REUNITED WITH YOUR PET IF ANIMAL CONTROL CAN IDENTIFY IT AS BEING ‘OWNED’.
- If you’re going to be traveling with your pet, do some research and find out if there are pet friendly shelters in the area, just in case.
This reminds me of a true story. Several years ago, during one of the hurricanes, my owner looked out on the front porch and was surprised by a Great Dane cowering in the corner. She had a current Rabies Tag, so the next morning my owner called the animal hospital on the tag, and they located the dog’s owner! Their fence had blown down, they didn’t realize it, and the dog got out. We may not get a lot of devastating storm damage, but something as simple as a blown-down fence can be just as bad for us pets!
Take care– take your heartworm, flea and tick treats!
BAYL (Bark At You Later)
Lucie
Distribution of This Newsletter
Hook Law Center encourages you to share this newsletter with anyone who is interested in issues pertaining to the elderly, the disabled and their advocates. The information in this newsletter may be copied and distributed, without charge and without permission, but with appropriate citation to Hook Law Center, P.C. If you are interested in a free subscription to the Hook Law Center News, then please telephone us at 757-399-7506, e-mail us at mail@hooklawcenter.com or fax us at 757-397-1267.The post Asset Protection in Virginia: What can I do that won’t break the bank? first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>
Estate planning lawyers in Brighton are most often considered by folks who are wanting to put their end-of-life affairs in order. The lawyer helps them to draw up important documents such as powers of attorney and medical directives, as well as to develop a plan for how an individual’s property will be distributed upon his or her death. Wills, trusts, executors…these are all typical topics that a Brighton estate planning lawyer will discuss with clients.
There is also a need to protect one’s assets during his or her lifetime. Not only is this important to the quality of life, but it also helps ensure that there is property that can be left behind! Asset protection is about choosing the best strategies to minimize the potential negative consequences of liability. That includes protection from claims made against and individual, as well as claims against your assets. The former would include things such as property damage or physical harm to another that was caused by you. The latter would have to do with damage caused by something you own, such as a business or property.
Commonly, if a claim is made against an individual or their property, just about everything that person owns can be put at risk. For example, a judgment against you in a court of law can give creditors the ability to go after your assets in order to be compensated for damages. It can be an unpleasant eye-opening experience for a small business owner to discover that because someone was injured in their place of business, creditors may be able to take away personal assets that have nothing to do with the business itself. If someone slips and falls in your restaurant, as the owner, you could lose your home.
While estate planning focuses pretty heavily on wills and trusts to distribute assets after death, there are advantages to utilizing these tools during an individual’s lifetime, too. A trust can be especially helpful in keeping a person’s assets out of harm’s way, which is why working with a Brighton estate planning lawyers is such an important part of a solid asset protection strategy.
Using a trust for asset protection doesn’t come without its limitations, though.
- In order to shield the assets from creditors, an estate planning lawyer will likely include a “spendthrift provision” in your documents. However, a spendthrift provision cannot be used with a revocable living trust.
- The trust must be for the benefit of the beneficiaries, rather than the person setting it up.
- Beneficiaries cannot be involved in the management of the trust and cannot make any changes to its terms.
There are other advantages and limitations to using a trust for asset protection during life, and a good <insert city> estate planning lawyer will be able to work with clients to determine whether it is a useful strategy based on each individual’s needs.
The post A Helpful Look at the Differences Between Estate Planning and Asset Protection in Brighton appeared first on Michigan Estate Planning.
The post A Helpful Look at the Differences Between Estate Planning and Asset Protection in Brighton first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>
Divorce is a decision taken by two spouses. However, sometimes one of the spouse initiates divorce proceedings while the other one simply either agrees to agree to their demand or fight the case. If you are someone who has not initiated the divorce, the first news of divorce is when you will get the divorce papers. This can be an emotional time, but any misstep can cause you undue losses in the future. Hence, here is a list of 5 things you need to do when you get your divorce papers.
Read Them Thoroughly
The first thing to do when you get your hands on your divorce papers is give them a read. Typically, the first read will not be as through as it should be, so it’s best that you give it a read at least twice. This is primarily because these papers have a sea of information that the spouse needs to know. In addition to that the divorce papers will also highlight other aspects such as:
- Which court is the case filed in?
- The deadline date of the response
- Whether she has attained the services of an Attorney or not
- The grounds of the divorce will be laid down
- The relief that the party seeks.
Hire an Attorney
This is an important step. Unless you think that you are good enough representing yourself on your own, it is recommended that you hire an Orange County divorce lawyer instead of trying to have a go on your own. Hiring an attorney will help you throughout the divorce, whether it is as a result of experience they have in fighting the case or their knowhow of the procedures that are to be followed. However, hiring an attorney for the sake of hiring one is equally bad. Make sure the attorney you hire is experienced and well versed in their job.
Give the Divorce Paper a Response
There are two way to go about this. Either you respond to the notice, disputing the facts, the claims made and rejecting the relief sought, instead seeking relief yourself or you don’t reply to the notice. Not replying to a notice is seen as accepting the terms of the divorce proposed by the other spouse and giving them all that they want. Which response to give, will depend on what you and your Orange County divorce attorney decide.
Gather Documents
If you have decided to dispute the claims made by the other spouse, you need to prepare for the divorce case. For that, the best way is to find evidences, documents and invoices if any that support your claim. If you have the documents on your side you may have a chance of winning.
Asset Protection
This is again an important step to do. Sometimes the other spouse can make off with all the joint ownership assets. To avoid that, make sure you keep their files safe and secure and keep all its legal formalities up to date. The better your asset protection the more the chance of you keeping your assets.
Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce and family law attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.
Several hundred people attended — it was wonderful to connect with so many in our community.
The audience was fantastic — you asked us many excellent questions as we covered severeal sophisticated and sometimes confusing topics, including: the importance of a properly structured living trust, estate tax planning, protecting assets and becoming eligible for Medi-Cal, special needs planning and how multigenerational estate planning can bring families together.
We hope that everyone who attended gained a better understanding of the many planning issues that families face. And we hope that everyone had a good time!
If you were unable to attend, or if you attended and would like to start your own estate planning process, please do not hesitate to contact our office to set an appointment. We are here for you and your family.
We were honored to have so many in our community join us for these events.
A big “thank you” from all of us at Gilfix & La Poll, and we hope to see you soon!
—Mark Gilfix, Esq.
The post Thank You for the Amazing Turnout at Our Estate Planning Seminars! first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>