Informative Masterclass
How to Protect your Family’s Assets and Leave a Lasting Legacy
Save Your Spot Now!

White Plains & New City, New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Firm

What Is Asset Protection Planning?

December 1, 2022
David Parker, Esq.
How to provide asset protection
David Parker, White Plains and New City NY Estate Planning Attorney
David Parker, Esq.
David Parker is an attorney who specializes in Estate Planning and Elder Law and has been practicing law for 30 years. Be it Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Health Care Proxies, or Medicaid Planning, David provides comprehensive and caring counsel for seniors and their families. A large portion of David’s practice is asset protection strategies so that families do not lose their hard earned savings to nursing home care costs. He also handles probate administration for the settlement of estates.
Asset protection planning is the process of building barriers around your assets, whether those assets are personal or business, to keep them safe from litigation, creditor claims, seizure and burdensome taxes.

Yahoo’s recent article entitled “How to Protect Your Money, Even If You're Not Rich” says that contrary to what many people believe, asset protection planning isn’t just for the wealthy. The estates of anyone, in any income group, can be sued or suffer from hefty taxation.

The following strategies can mitigate the effect of creditor claims and other issues on your wealth.

If you want and need to protect your assets, you should be proactive. However, if you have significant debt and few assets and you are subject to a lawsuit, it may be better to file for bankruptcy than to create an asset protection plan.

That's because it's only worth it if you have significant assets, although some events cannot be protected against. These include tax liens, mechanics liens, alimony judgments and child support claims.

A plan benefits these people the most:

  • Anyone with a significant amount of assets.
  • Anyone with a significant, recurring amount of credit card debt.
  • Homeowners underwater on their mortgage (your mortgage balance is greater than the value of your home).
  • Anyone whose profession carries with it a high probability of liability, such as doctors and attorneys.

Some assets aren’t subject to creditors, such as retirement accounts under the protection of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

You may also legally preserve at least a portion of your home equity. Homes may be put in another individual's name.

The goal of an asset protection plan is to set a level of legal separation between you and your assets. This allows you to legally shelter your assets from creditors without doing anything illegal.

Reference: Yahoo! (Nov. 6, 2022) “How to Protect Your Money, Even If You're Not Rich”

 

Share This Post
Stay Informed
Subscribe To Our FREE Estate Planning, Probate and Elder Law Newsletter

Book Your Free Initial Consultation With Parker Law Firm Today
Get Started Now

The 15 minute initial phone call is designed as a simple way for you to get to know us, and for our team to learn more about your unique estate planning needs.

Book an Initial Call
Book A Call With Parker Law Firm
Parker Law Firm
White Plains Location

222 Bloomingdale Rd #301,
White Plains, NY 10605

New City Location

120 North Main Street, Suite 203,
New City, NY 10956

IMS - Estate Planning and Elder Law Practice Growth Advisors
Powered by
crosscross-circle