Just in case you need another reminder to develop your own personal asset protection plan…
More than half the states have tried to place caps on jury awards in malpractice cases. But the caps have been struck down by courts in several states. On Monday, the Georgia Supreme Court (in a seven-zero decision) struck down a
In a post last month, I emphasized that a business can be lost or severely damaged by lack of a meaningful succession plan. The title of an article in yesterday’s New York Times says it all — "Lack of Succession Plan Puts Family Venture at Risk". The article has some useful suggestions for closely
There is an increasing interest in asset protection among both individuals and businesses. But many people are still not exactly sure what "asset protection planning" is.
Asset protection planning is simply the process of lawfully protecting your personal and/or business assets from creditors. It involves taking advantage of laws and legal doctrines that were actually
A business succession plan is a key component of any asset protection plan. In most cases, a family business constitutes a large percentage of the owners’ assets. Yet a significant number of businesses have absolutely no succession plan in place.
In thirty years of representing family businesses, I have come to understand why succession planning
Offshore trusts are receiving far more media attention than they did in the past. And much of the media attention is negative. Floyd Norris, writing in the January 22, 2010 New York Times, shines the spotlight very brightly on the Cook Islands. The Cook Islands (in the South Pacific) have a population of about
A couple recent inquiries from readers of this blog (as well as some recent client questions) reminded me of the critical role of the attorney in the asset protection planning process.
You will frequently benefit by getting input from multiple advisors — such as your investment advisor, accountant, tax preparer, maybe even certain friends and
I am frequently asked isolated questions about asset protection planning. Should I consider forming a domestic asset protection trust? Do you think I should consolidate some of my real estate holdings in a limited liability company? Should my husband and I transfer joint interest in our residence to my name alone? Etc., etc.
None of
I reported in a post earlier this month that as an IRS amnesty deadline approached, more than 7,500 U.S. taxpayers had voluntarily disclosed their secret offshore accounts. Lynnley Browning reports in a November 18, 2009 New York Times article that the IRS received a flood of additional disclosures just before the deadline expired. The final number of U.S. taxpayers
It seems that U.S. lawmakers are likely to give the IRS increasing support in its recent assault on offshore accounts.
More than 7,500 U.S. taxpayers have voluntarily disclosed secret offshore accounts to the Internal Revenue Service in connection with a recent amnesty program. The program did not provide any forgiveness for tax evasion. It simply provided possible
My law offices are in the Eaton Center Building in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. So a recent headline in The Cleveland Plain Dealer Business Section — stating that Eaton might owe billions in damages in an antitrust case — naturally caught my eye. A jury in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware found that Eaton Corp has
