We are living in an age where the economy is tough on most if not all of us. Even if you inherited billions of money from your parents, trust, or relatives, you still have to spend a portion of it to create more lest you end up in the streets in a few years. After spending sleepless nights, hard toil, and sweat creating wealth, you can’t afford to see it wasted by anyone or any circumstance. Protecting your wealth/assets is paramount, especially if you want it to benefit your offspring or future generations. The same case applies to intangible assets such as intellectual property. With this having been said, you need to take financially wise measures that are also legal.
Here are some things you need to know about protecting your assets and the legal ways to do so.
1. You Need to Plan Your Asset Protection
Assets are hard-won. The more assets you have, the more vulnerable you are. Protecting your asset nest should never be an option. It’s always prudent to come up with calculable strategies early enough that can provide you with credible defense in case of a lawsuit. Ensure you have a formidable asset protection arrangement to insulate you against claims of lien that could arise. This will give you an advantage in that one; the courts will most likely look into your case more positively than if you didn’t have a plan in place. This process of planning can be intimidating, which brings us to the next important point.
2. A Competent Estate Attorney Can Help
Asset protection is among the most overlooked parts of personal financial planning. The majority of people skip this crucial step that goes a long way in guarding their hard-earned precious assets against the unknown. Failing to protect your hard-earned assets can easily be lost in the unforgiving realm of creditors or in a lawsuit or bankruptcy.
Therefore, you need to enlighten yourself regarding the laws that protect your type of assets so you can take the necessary measures in protecting and safeguarding them. The folks over at https://www.atlantaestatelawcenter.com/ insist on speaking to an estate planning attorney for advice. Thanks to their experience in this field, they will help you come up with an estate planning strategy that will keep your assets protected even in the unfortunate event of your demise. This way, you and your family can have peace of mind knowing that what you toiled so hard for is protected from opportunists and ill-thinkers.
3. Separate Business and Personal Assets
Mixing your business with personal assets can be a risky affair. One of the strategies you can embrace in securing your personal and business assets is ensuring that your business is established as a distinct legal entity. Your personal finances should also be separated from the business. Failure to separate your personal assets like a house or car from your business can land them in the hands of creditors in case your business is unable to pay its debts. Again, this is all the more reason attorneys are involved when starting a business and in estate planning.
4. Acquiring Asset Protection Trust
One of the safest vehicles for protecting your assets is the protection trust. The trust is a win-win scenario. For instance, it favors you during the end result of settlement mediations. An asset protection lawyer will help come up with a tailor-made protection trust to protect your assets. He will ensure it’s up to date with any changes in your personal or professional life. They will also come in handy when and if you need to write a will giving guidelines of how you wish your assets to be distributed when you die.
5. Umbrella Insurance
Without the right game plan to protect your treasured goodies, they can all be gone in a flash in a liability lawsuit. Umbrella insurance shields your assets from unforeseen rainy days where other policies are inadequate to cover the said liabilities. It may also provide liability protection in the event you are sued. Your attorney will expound for you on umbrella insurance, its benefits, and the legal ways of pursuing compensation in case of the unknown. It can be a great addition to your asset protection strategies.
Foretelling the future is almost impossible, and this calls for being proactive in life. You cannot just fold your hands and wait for things to go wrong so you can act. Losing assets that you spent years acquiring can break your heart into a million pieces. Having the knowledge on how you can protect them legally can keep you from such disastrous situations. The above piece highlights a few ways to do just that.