Fraudulent Conveyances

Your ability to transfer assets for asset protection purposes depends to a great extent on whether or not you are “insolvent” at the time of a transfer.  Insolvency is generally defined in terms of your ability to pay your debts as they become due. 

The Uniform Voidable Transactions Act (“UVTA”) – – a uniform law

Courts in a number of states have specifically held that lawyers can violate applicable disciplinary rules by facilitating fraudulent conveyances.  This can result in an attorney being suspended or even disbarred. 

This is one of the reasons that an attorney must conduct a certain amount of due diligence about a new client before agreeing to

A recent decision by the Ohio Court of Appeals (Second District) held that the City of Springfield, Ohio was entitled to “pierce the corporate veil” of the defendant corporation in order to reach the shareholder’s assets.  The court further held that transfers totaling about $900,000 to its shareholder (proceeds from the corporation’s sale of real

A number of states have enacted Domestic Asset Protection Trust (DAPT) legislationOhio may soon join those states.  These statutes authorize what are known as "self settled" trusts.  This essentially means that the person setting up the trust is also one of its beneficiaries.  Thus, the person setting up the trust is attempting

Transferring an asset under certain circumstances can constitute a fraudulent conveyance.  Refusing to accept an asset can also constitute a fraudulent conveyance.

Let’s say that you owe a creditor a significant amount of money.  You then learn that you have received a substantial inheritance.  If you take the inheritance it will go to the creditor.  So

A recent decision by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Alaska (In Re: Thomas Mortensen, Case No. A09-00565-DMD) is clearly worth reading — for a discussion of fraudulent conveyances, Alaska asset protection trusts, applicable statutes of limitations, and a variety of other asset protection topics.  I will likely comment on this recent

It is clearly better to engage in asset protection planning before you have any creditor issues.  But planning after a lawsuit has been filed — or even after a judgment has been entered against you — is frequently possible.

State fraudulent transfer statutes vary in a number of respects.  But as a general rule, a conveyance