As I mentioned in a post about a year ago, estate planning and asset protection planning are not the same. They are related. It is often advisable to focus on them at the same time. But they involve different considerations.
Here is one example. A general rule for estate planning is to divide assets
Most of us now have multiple on-line accounts that require some sort of password in order to access that account. Concerns about privacy and protecting assets make us inclined to keep these passwords secret. Unfortunately, very few people consider what happens if they die and no one can access their on-line accounts.
Your asset protection/estate
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
It is generally estimated that more than half of all Americans have absolutely no estate planning documents. This can potentially create a lot of hassles for your loved ones.
But even those Americans with very good estate planning documents often fail to focus on asset protection for their children and other beneficiaries. If you simply
While estate planning and asset protection planning are related, they are not the same. An asset protection plan is designed principally to protect your assets from creditors during your lifetime. It can also be designed to protect assets you leave to your spouse, children and other family members.
An estate plan is focused more on
For anyone who did any asset protection planning in 2010 — If you made a gift of more than $13,000 to anyone other than your spouse, you are required to file a federal gift tax return to report the gift(s). The filing is made on IRS Form 709. A gift tax return for gifts
Family limited liability companies can be a convenient vehicle to hold and administer family investments. They offer significant benefits from both an estate planning and asset protection standpoint. Until recently, the entity of choice for family investments was a family limited partnership (often just called an FLP). While there is nothing wrong with an FLP, we are
Poor (or no) estate planning can lead to catastrophic losses of family assets.
Check out the article by Claudia Buck in The Portland Press Herald with some sad stories of families who wasted lots of money due to poor estate planning. Some simple steps can avoid family fights and save legal fees. These include earmarking
