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WE HELP GOOD PEOPLE AVOID BECOMING VICTIMS OF BAD CIRCUMSTANCES AND REDUCE THEIR VULNERABILITY TO LAWSUIT ABUSE AND FINANCIAL PREDATORS More and more people are using the legal system to deprive others of their life's work. Over 19 million new lawsuits are filed in the United States every year. Many of these lawsuits are frivolous. Many are legal greenmail and are eventually settled for amounts greater than any real amount owed because of the time involved, the risks of sympathetic juries and the expenses of fighting overstated, thin or bogus claims. Business owners, contractors, professionals such as doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, architects, engineers, and property owners in particular need to be aware of both the obvious and the hidden risks associated with running their business, practicing in their respective fields, and taking responsibility for others. Without a massive overhaul of our legal system, the risk and potential liability is not going to decline. In fact it has steadily increased over the last few decades. Assets can be at risk due to a number of vulnerabilities, including:
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Fraudulent and real injury claims
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Workplace harassment and discrimination claims
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Upcoming remarriage
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Professional malpractice exposure
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Personal liability from serving as a corporate officer or director
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Disputes with current or former business partners or investors
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Personal injury suffered on your premises
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Personal injury resulting from a motor vehicle accident
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Liability from a business failure
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Liability arising from misconduct
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Liability from the actions of your children, employees and guests
Asset Protection is not about giving in to worry or fear. It is about empowering yourself and squarely facing the real risks that exist today. Our firm will work with clients to implement proven, legally-sound strategies that will help preserve their wealth and safeguard their assets against future risks. Legal and clean asset protection is never about hiding assets. It could be said to be about hardening assets. It is hardening assets so that they are inconvenient, difficult or impossible to be captured. Asset Protection Planning is about isolating liabilities. Much of the work we do in asset protection focuses on separating valuable assets from sources of liability. This is relatively easy if the value being protected is in investment assets. More advanced techniques are required to protect assets which are either personally used by a client or used in his or her business. Existing assets are also easier to protect than ongoing earnings. We implement custom structures and proprietary approaches to provide our clients with security and peace of mind. We represent professionals, small business owners, property owners, and other clients with the goal of protecting their assets against potential litigation, judgments, liens, and fraud. Insurance alone does not always adequately protect against all of these threats. We help clients protect their wealth using a variety of strategies including the use of special trusts, business entities and other legal arrangements. Shielding Assets from Creditors
Our firm has expertise in assisting clients to arrange their finances, real property and other assets in a manner that minimizes their exposure to potential creditors. We are well versed in establishing trusts, determining insurance needs, creating estate plans and organizing investments and business entities so that our clients are able to enjoy the highest level of confidence in terms of the security of their accumulated assets. A creditor who initiates litigation against a person who has placed his or her assets into trusts and otherwise properly arranged their affairs may find that there are very few vulnerable assets actually owned by the person they wish to sue. Assets owned by properly structured trusts, and otherwise wrapped in an asset protection structure are generally not subject to claims against their beneficiaries. In addition, asset protection structures may be used as part of a plan to pass assets between generations with the least possible tax. By providing protection from the unknowable, from bad circumstances, bad results, financial predators and legal greenmail we help our clients sleep better at night. Our firm has a solid working knowledge of:
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Domestic and offshore trusts;
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Domestic and offshore business entity formation;
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Home equity protection techniques;
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Business receivables protection;
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Exempt asset protections under state law;
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Protection of premarital assets and
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Negotiation and structuring of pre and post-marital agreements
The exact strategies employed by our firm may vary depending on the client, the nature of the assets, the risks they face, their country of origin, and the tax regulations that apply to their assets. The ultimate goal is to protect current assets and future growth in a manner that is effective, legal, and ethical. |