Lawsuits abound for anything. From a slip and fall in front of your home or office, to a car accident, to false accusations of assault, battery or defamation, your assets are at risk. If you are a professional physician, lawyer, architect, engineer, or a sport or entertainment celebrity, it gets worse. You are an easy target for frivolous claims and Government overreach. It does not take much for a claimant or the Government to file a lawsuit or even a one page notice against your property and assets. At worst, you may lose everything. At best, your hard-earned assets will be tied for years to come.

There are different tools to achieve your asset protection and estate planning:

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• Domestic Asset Protection Trust (“DAPT”)

• Gifts

• Homestead and Other Statutory Exemptions

• Joint Tenancy in Deeds and Financial Accounts

• Offshore Trusts

• Splitting Assets

• Third Party Spend Thrift Trusts

• Wills

An asset protection or estate plan is NOT worth the paper it is written on if it is created in anticipation of a known claim or lawsuit. So, if you decide to transfer assets because you think there is a possible, or worse, an existing claim, your asset protection plan is unlikely to give you the protection you seek. Moreover, you may be liable for fraud under State fraudulent conveyance laws and Federal bankruptcy laws. Therefore, you must make you asset protection plan BEFORE ANY CLAIM ARISES to achieve the best result.