Asset Protection Strategies/Alternatives

In April of 2018, the Georgia legislature presented to Governor Nathan Deal HB 441 for signature, which permitted the use of DAPTs in Georgia. The statute contained many of the similar flavors of other DAPT statutes, with a few notable exceptions like allowing tort creditors to reach assets in the DAPT. A few days after being presented with HB 441, Governor Deal vetoed the bill.
Continue Reading 2018 Year-End Review: Part Four: Georgia Vetoes DAPT legislation

Our last case law discussion comes to us from the Ohio Supreme Court in Embassy Healthcare v. Bell. This case provides a great illustration of facts that many may one day encounter: a nursing home sought payment from a surviving spouse of a decedent spouse’s outstanding bill. But where this case is particularly interesting is the method by which the nursing home sought payment.
Continue Reading 2018 Year-End Review: Part Three: Embassy Healthcare v. Bell

Part One: In re Olson

Part one of our 2018 asset protection year-end review begins with the case of In re Olson. This case is yet another reminder that it is critically important to engage in asset protection planning before you have a creditor problem.

The decision comes to us from a U.S. District Bankruptcy Court in California. Olson was married to a NASA engineer who formed a startup company that sought to specialize in surveying for oil using an airplane and other specialized technology. The startup received hundreds of millions of dollars in investor capital, but when the price of oil collapsed, so too did the company. As a result of the collapse, Olson was served with a lawsuit from a creditor. After being served, she transferred $4.6 million in assets into a Cook Islands trust.Continue Reading 2018 Year-End Review: Part One: In re Olson

In 2017 there have been a variety of discussions among leading estate planning attorneys about the extent to which Ohio law now protects a deceased person’s assets from the claims of a creditor.  For many years it has been clear that a creditor could make claims against the probate assets (assets passing under a will) of the deceased person, at least so long as the claim is made timely (i.e., within six months of death) and presented appropriately (e.g., to an executor appointed by the probate court).  Ohio’s procedures are friendlier to estates and more hostile to creditors than some other states, but the general ideas are similar.Continue Reading Asset Protection Beyond the Grave: Claims Against a Deceased Person’s Assets

An article in the New York Times on March 24, 2016, emphasizes the critical need for succession planning in closely held companies. While business succession planning is important at various levels, the fallout for companies that lose a founder can be particularly bad.

The article notes that most small businesses are family