If you have assets to pass on to your loved ones, you want to make sure that those assets are protected. A proper estate plan can help you protect your money from creditors and frivolous lawsuits. A Woodland Hills trust attorney from our firm can help you make one.
Should I Use a Trust or an LLC to Protect My Assets From Creditors?
What kinds of estate planning tools you use to protect yourself from creditors and misleading litigants largely depends on the size of your estate and your preferences, like who you want to control the bulk of your assets.
Certain types of trusts can be a good option if you want to protect assets. To protect from creditors and others, a trust often needs to be irrevocable. This means that you would not be able to change the terms of the trust on a whim. A trustee, someone you put in charge of the trust, would have the discretion to distribute money from it.
Another option is an LLC, or limited liability company. You can transfer assets to this entity and then give shares to yourself and other family members. A family limited partnership can work in a similar way. Both options protect your assets from personal creditors because an LLC or FLP has a degree of separation from you.
Can a Retirement Account Protect Assets From Creditors?
Some of your retirement accounts may already be protecting your assets from creditors and others. If an account is qualified for ERISA, also known as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, then protections are nearly unlimited. Other accounts, like certain types of IRAs could protect $1 million or more from bankruptcy and other disturbances.
It’s a good idea to go over the terms of your retirement accounts to discover exactly what kinds of protections you have. If you want to move assets from such accounts to a trust or another entity, we can assist you with that.
Should I Hire an Estate Planning Lawyer?
Making a comprehensive estate plan on your own can be difficult. Important elements could get left out if you rush things, and sometimes people make wills and plans that do not actually meet the state’s standards. This renders them unenforceable.
An experienced estate planner can help you sort through all of your options. We’ll make it easy to find the best ways to protect your assets so that they can pass down to your beneficiaries, not creditors.
Talk to a Lawyer Today
When you are ready to make a comprehensive estate plan that can protect your assets from creditors and others, contact the Law Offices of Yacoba Ann Feldman. We can schedule a consultation and take a closer look at your assets and estate planning needs.
