How an Atlanta Asset Protection Attorney Can Protect Your Assets from Lawsuits and Claims
Speak with a trusted Asset Protection Attorney in Cherokee County, Georgia.
Professional Help With Atlanta Asset Protection and Estate Planning
An excellent asset protection strategy created by an attorney experienced with this practice area can help protect the assets of individuals and business owners during their lifetime. Learn more here.
Author: Stan Faulkner, Founder, Perigon Legal Services, LLC
Mr. Faulkner is an experienced counselor and litigator with 15 years of experience, having held bar licenses in four states (Mo, Il, Ct and Ga). Stan Faulkner uses this experience and focuses his skills in the pursuit of assisting individuals in probate (trust and estate) matters, guardianships and conservatorships, estate planning, business disputes and contract disputes. Published on March 31, 2021.
If you have assets in Atlanta, Georgia, you want to make sure to keep them safe for yourself and your loved ones. Asset protection strategies aim to keep your key assets safe from the potentially damaging effects of lawsuits, creditor claims, or other penalties. While you may initially think that an asset protection attorney Atlanta GA is only necessary for the ultra-wealthy, the fact is that anyone who has built up a nest egg or retirement assets might benefit from a strategic asset protection plan to protect those items and meet their financial goals. If you are a homeowner, asset protection should also be part of your plans for the future.
While asset protection encompasses multiple areas of law, including estate law, corporate law, and family law, our skilled estate planning lawyers can work with you to develop an effective plan to address a range of concerns, provide protection and minimize risk.
No matter if you’ve worked hard to build your wealth or you have received a significant inheritance, make sure you protect your wealth from liability. Without proper asset protection planning, you risk exposing your wealth.
Whether you are concerned about creditors, lawsuits, or other potential challenges to your ability for asset protection, an Atlanta GA asset protection lawyer can work with you to develop strategies to shield your hard-earned assets from danger. An estate planning attorney can provide extensive analysis and advice about the types of financial arrangements you can take to protect your assets from judgments, creditors, excessive taxation, or divorce.
By consulting with an experienced lawyer, you can prepare all the necessary documents for your asset protection. The founding attorney at Perigon Legal Services, Stan Faulkner, is an experienced legal counselor and litigator with over 18 years of experience. He uses this experience and focuses his skills in the pursuit of assisting individuals in estate and trust matters, business advising and disputes, and real estate matters.
How Can Our Asset Protection Attorney Atlanta GA Help You?
Our Atlanta asset protection attorneys have extensive experience in keeping our clients protected on multiple fronts, using a legal strategy to keep the important property safe. There is not only one path to protect your asset; the best choice depends on your unique circumstances. However, there is often an effective, legitimate option to shield your wealth in many different circumstances through both financial and legal planning.
A law practice focused on the protection of assets will have a comprehensive checklist of documents. It will concentrate on the preparation of all elements of estate strategies, including powers of attorney, trusts, wills, payments of estate taxes, and health care instructions to guarantee your household is safeguarded. Any estate plan without these and other estate elements is not complete.
By acting early on, before an immediate threat looms on the horizon, you will be better situated for long-term, effective protection. Laws forbid fraudulent conveyance — that is, the transfer of money to another person in order to evade a debt or a judgment. If you plan in advance, before there is a debt or judgment, you will have a far greater shield to keep you safe later on. This may mean you never take advantage of your asset protection plan; however, it can provide you with a significant boost to your peace of mind and keep your estate safe and available for your beneficiaries.
Most individuals are not experienced enough to navigate this area of the law, and estate planning is really not something they can do on their own without an extensive legal background. Perigon Legal Services provides advanced strategies for estate plans and the preservation of your assets, working to protect your belongings and property during your lifetime and pass them along to your heirs successfully.
Expert Counsel for Asset Protection
Best Asset Protection Strategies for Small Business Owners
There are multiple asset protection strategies that you may choose. In most cases, these involve some relinquishing of legal control and authority over the assets while still retaining access to or benefits from them. In many cases, this involves establishing a corporate entity or a trust of some kind that provides your assets with a different legal personality and identity from you.
Your Atlanta estate planning lawyer will advise you of the best asset protection options for your specific needs, concerns, and situation. Some of the asset protection choices you may pursue include:
- Limited liability companies (LLCs): This type of business entity has a separate legal personality from its owners, and in most cases, your personal property and those of the LLC are considered separate from one another in case of a lawsuit.
- Limited partnerships: Some types of family limited partnerships may allow you to protect your wealth from creditor claims while you retain the benefits of the assets.
- Domestic property protection trusts: This kind of irrevocable trust is established for your benefit, allowing you to obtain beneficial access to your wealth while shielding it from creditors and judgments.
- Offshore trusts: Foreign offshore trusts can protect your assets in many countries where laws are strongly favorable to defendants. These may be more costly to set up than domestic trusts but provide stronger protection.
A “Spendthrift” or a Third-party discretionary trust can also be established. These trusts allow relatives or family members to create a trust fund with certain restrictions. These trusts can provide some financial protection if you are worried money you pass on to a loved one may be spent recklessly.
However, all of these plans for the protection of assets, even if they are placed in a trust, are subject to tax laws, and while these plans can protect your property, they can’t be created to defeat the IRS.
Protect Your Assets From Lawsuits
You may think of an asset protection strategy as a type of insurance to protect your assets from lawsuits. You can indeed purchase insurance, and your Atlanta Georgia lawyer will provide you with legal advice about where insurance may be an important part of your strategy for protection from judgments.
If you are a small business owner or entrepreneur, it can also be important to ensure that your enterprise is established appropriately to protect you from personal liability for debts, injuries, or judgments associated with your business activities.
For example, if you are an independent professional, such as a doctor, you will likely have malpractice insurance. Even so, an asset protection plan can take additional money off the table in case of a potential significant judgment since insurance does not completely eliminate personal risk.
As a small-business owner, you have to make sure the structure of your enterprise is strong, and your financial interests are secure by hiring a competent asset protection and business attorney. Stan Faulkner of Perigon Legal Services provides premium asset protection services, including consultancy, advocacy, and legal advice. Let his law firm handle your regular deals and help you with drafting contracts, assessing agreements, and assisting with other, more complex business and corporate legal tasks.
Useful Asset Protection Strategies
How to Establish a Property Protection Trust
You may establish a property protection trust inside the United States or overseas. A domestic trust is an easier option that provides greater tax advantages than many offshore options. It also requires fewer resources to establish and fewer people involved in its establishment. However, to ensure your assets are protected, the trust must be irrevocable — that is, permanent.
The legal title to your assets will be permanently changed when you set up this trust. Your attorney will provide you with detailed options for determining the right choice to protect your property.
Our law firm is dedicated to providing exceptional advice on asset protection and estate planning, built on years of experience and relationships of trust with our clients. We realize that every one of our clients has different goals and objectives. That is why our legal team is dedicated to helping you understand the laws that affect your particular case and offer individualized representation. Call our office today to schedule an appointment for a free consultation.
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