Estate Planning

Asset Protection

Life can turn on a dime because of tragedies, causing you to lose your hard-earned wealth. No matter how hard you work for your money, you are not financially secure unless you have a comprehensive estate plan to protect your wealth and property.

Kinghorn Law will work with you to identify the area your estate is at risk. Contact us at 520.529.4000 about asset protection.

Why is Asset Protection Important?

Life is full of the potential for loss… no one lives their whole life with perfect luck.

When you work hard to earn a nest egg, you don’t leave it to fate to keep your wealth safe. Just as you made smart and strategic decisions in building your wealth, you must also make smart and strategic decisions in protecting it.

The specific risks that are most likely to lead to loss vary depending upon the specifics of your career, health, personal situation, and family.

 Common Sources of Loss

Some of the most common possible sources of loss could include:

Being sued: You could be sued because someone hurts themselves on your property; because you or your kids get into a car accident; because your dog bites someone; or for a variety of other reasons. If there is a judgment that exceeds the value of your insurance, your personal assets are in jeopardy.

Business liability: If you own your own business, you could face substantial personal financial risks due to issues with your business organization. You could find yourself personally on the hook for company debt, lawsuits against your company, and bad decisions made by co-owners.

Incapacity or disability: A disabling condition, including both illnesses and injuries, could shatter your financial security in many ways. Your assets could be left unmanaged and you could face high costs of nursing home care that quickly deplete your nest egg.

Losses after death: You don’t just want to preserve your wealth during your life. You also want it to be there to provide for your loved ones after you are gone. Unfortunately, estate tax, irresponsible heirs, and a host of other potential problems could arise during and after the process of transferring assets to new owners after you have passed away.

What is Involved in Protecting Assets?

Protecting your assets involves using legal tools designed to shield you from losses. Some options are:

Incorporating your business or forming a limited liability company (LLC): Both options, when properly formed and managed, would limit losses to the amount of money you have personally invested in a business.

Trusts: Trusts are a versatile asset protection tool that can be used to protect against everything from estate tax to a delay in assets transferring that causes mismanagement and reduces asset value. Trusts can also help you to qualify for Medicaid without having to give up the financial resources that normally make you ineligible for Medicaid coverage. This is important since you may be unable to get anyone to pay for nursing home care other than Medicaid.

Family Limited Partnerships. Asset protection planning with FLPs includes “inside creditor protection,” “outside creditor protection” and litigious family circumstance protection.

Buying insurance coverage. An asset protection lawyer can help you to make certain you are fully insured.

These are just a few of the many tools used for asset protection. You need someone who knows how to choose the right approach and put together a comprehensive, detailed plan aimed at protecting the maximum value of your wealth.

Let Kinghorn Law help you to keep your wealth safe for yourself and future generations.