Looking at the big picture of protecting your interests during your life and after, estate planning includes long term care planning and elder law issues, estate planning strategies, and determining whether asset protection planning belongs, too.
Asset protection planning is not a strategy that you use to respond after a threat, such as a lawsuit, emerges. It’s best used well in advance of any threat to diminish the possibility of threats and to have a plan in place in case a threat emerges.
If you are in a position where someone else views you as having assets that could be attached to a lawsuit, it’s a good idea to discuss asset protection planning with a lawyer. Whereas estate planning is more focused on what happens to your assets when you’re no longer around, asset protection planning is about proactively planning to guard those assets during your lifetime.
Asset protection planning looks for ways to prevent valuable assets from being absorbed or taken by others, such as those that might be attached in a lawsuit. In some cases, the very perception that a person has substantial assets increases the chances of these threats. Likewise, the establishment of an asset protection planning strategy can illustrate how hard it would be to recover those assets, thus discouraging the threat in the first place or laying a firm foundation for protecting those assets.
Creditor claims can be a significant threat to your assets. Far too many people find themselves exposed to issues from creditor claims, so sitting down with a dedicated asset protection planning lawyer can assist you with viewing this from the big picture and crafting a plan.