Nowadays, many individuals realize the importance of preserving and protecting hard-earned assets against unfortunate events, including lawsuits. Essentially, asset protection refers to a process of taking the necessary steps to safeguard your properties and ensure your loved ones would benefit from them even after your passing.
However, unless you’re well-versed with some asset protection strategies, you may need the assistance of an experienced lawyer to handle the complexities involved with this undertaking. Generally, an asset protection lawyer refers to a legal professional who knows how to execute protective measures, such as wills and trust funds to secure assets from any legal action.
Thus, if you’re wondering why hiring an asset protection lawyer is useful to your situation, below are the four reasons to consider from the get-go:
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To Be Familiar With The Asset Protection Laws
One of the primary reasons for hiring an asset protection lawyer is to become familiar with relevant laws applicable to your situation. Just like estate laws, the rules and regulations pertaining to asset protection can be complicated and confusing.
To have a better understanding of these legal matters, you need to seek legal help to make sure everything you do with your assets is within the bounds of the law. In short, by having a lawyer on your side, you can rest knowing you’re compliant with certain asset protection laws, and you won’t do anything that can jeopardize your assets in the long run.
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To Assist You In Finding An Optimal Protection Plan
Another reason for working with an asset protection lawyer from reputable law firms like Blake Harris Law is to seek help in finding the right protection plan for your assets. Unless you’re experienced in handling these matters, you need their legal knowledge and expertise to determine which asset protection strategies would work best for you.
The following are some key asset protection strategies that a dedicated lawyer may recommend for your situation:
- Establishing trusts: One of the best ways to protect your assets against any risks is to establish trusts. It’s an asset protection strategy that allows you to give the trustee the right to hold title to assets for certain beneficiaries. Due to this setup, you can better provide optimal safeguard for your properties if they’re transferred into trusts than letting you or your beneficiaries own the assets in your personal capacity.
- Drafting wills: Aside from trusts, creating a will can also shield your assets from any risks by making sure your heirs and other beneficiaries will inherit your hard-earned wealth after your passing.
- Using protected accounts: There are certain accounts that provide special protection to your assets against any form of risks, including bankruptcy. Some examples can include several types of Individual Retirement Accounts or IRA and many more.
- Business incorporation: Another asset protection strategy your lawyer may advise you to take is incorporating your business. This means your personal assets are safeguarded from lawsuits against your business, payment of large debts sustained by your business, and bankruptcy.
- Drafting a power of attorney: This strategy becomes very useful in a time of incapacity because it protects your assets by designating a trusted and competent person to manage your wealth and take charge in the event something wrong happens to you. When you fail to create a power of attorney, the court would be the one to appoint someone but that person may be or may not be able to manage your wealth efficiently, which can result in lost value.
- Purchasing sufficient amount of insurance: If you want optimal protection for your assets, securing adequate amount of insurance policies for business and personal use can be an excellent strategy. For example, you should have a health insurance to cover the medical bills when you get sick or liability insurance for home and car in case of unfortunate events. If you have several assets that need protection, it can be a good idea to sign up for an umbrella coverage to obtain more protection in case of lawsuits and other legal troubles.
As you can see, there are various asset protection strategies to consider. With the help of a legal professional, you can determine which one can effectively safeguard your assets during and after your lifetime. Your lawyer can also assist you in creating your protection plan to ensure that your loved ones will only be the ones to benefit from your wealth when the time comes.
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To Obtain Support And On-going Guidance
Protecting your assets against creditors, judgment holders, and other risks can be challenging. Unless you’re an expert in doing so, you need to hire an asset protection lawyer to get support and on-going guidance. For example, if your business is facing a big lawsuit, their legal services can be useful in defending your business and increasing your chances of winning. Also, when you’ve just acquired new assets, they can advise you on what to do to shield your assets against any unfortunate events.
Due to these circumstances, it always makes sense to have a lawyer on your side who can guide you in safeguarding your wealth at all times.
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To Ensure Proper Documentation
Generally, your protection plan wouldn’t be binding and effective without proper documentation. However, you can’t solely depend on your own knowledge for documentation, especially if various types of assets are involved. Also, when you’re dealing with a lawsuit, documentation plays a crucial part in getting a favorable outcome. You may lose the case if you fail to provide proper documents to support your claim.
That being said, you need to hire an asset protection lawyer to assist and protect your right against these situations. They can arrange the necessary documentation so that you’d be ready in case anyone is running after your wealth for their personal interests.
Bottom Line
Regardless of your financial situation, asset protection can be the best way to keep all your assets safe against any risks, including creditors, judgment holders, and even bankruptcy. Hopefully, by keeping the reasons mentioned above in mind, you’d realize the significance of hiring an asset protection lawyer to ensure your wealth is safeguarded for a long time.
