In a recent survey of millionaire baby boomers (by U.S. Trust), less than half of the respondents said it was important to leave money to their children when they die. That is according to an article in last Friday’s Los Angeles Times by Walter Hamilton.
But here is an important reminder: asset protection planning (and estate planning)
Offshore bank accounts have been getting more and more scrutiny in recent years. An article in last week’s Bloomberg News by David Voreacos outlines yet another U.S. investigation relating to foreign banks. Eight offshore banks are now under a federal grand jury investigation — for facilitating tax evasion by U.S. citizens.
But none of this
Certain life insurance products (as well as certain arrangements like an irrevocable life insurance trust) can provide asset protection advantages. For example, if you have a significant amount of cash that is not otherwise needed, and you also have the need for life insurance, a single premium whole life policy might be appropriate. Cash that
A July 31, 2011 article in The Sacramento Bee had a good summary of what a debt collector can and cannot do. The article was written by Claudia Buck (McClatchy Newspapers). It included excerpts from an interview with Robert Tavelli, former president of a private California debt collection firm.
Debt collectors are subject to a
The statute of limitations relating to a fraudulent transfer can vary significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In Ohio, Section 1336.09 of the Ohio Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act provides that a claim for relief must generally be brought within four years after a transfer was made. But even if that period has expired, a claim may
The Court of Chancery in Delaware is well respected by business lawyers from coast to coast. A recent New York Times article (which I discussed in another recent post) explains that the Delaware Chancery Court has a reputation for quick and knowledgeable business decisions. This is one of several reasons that so many businesses are
Approximately 900,000 businesses are incorporated in Delaware, including 63% of all fortune 500 companies. This is according to Rita K. Farrell in a recent New York Times article.
In various other posts, I have explained how Delaware’s LLC statute provides better asset protection for LLC owners than the law in many other states. The
Some new investment vehicles — called "black swan funds" — are designed to go up in value if there is an economic collapse. They are designed to protect against what some investment professionals are calling "tail risk" (basically meaning the economy going into some sort of disastrous tail spin).
Not all analysts are sold on this
Given the poor state of our economy in recent years, one would expect that the number of lawyers in the United States would be declining. There has been significant downsizing at larger law firms. Many businesses have been deferring some discretionary legal services. So one would expect a decreased demand for lawyers.
But according to James Podgers (writing
In several prior posts on March 19, 2010, February 23, 2010, November 6, 2009 and July 2, 2009, I emphasized that a business succession plan is critical for most closely held businesses. Yet according to an article last week by Marcia Pledger in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, fewer than 30 percent of small
