Los Angeles Asset Protection Lawyer

As a reality of our litigious society, someone can always bring you to court for whatever reason to recover damages for even the most innocuous injuries. However, if it were difficult or impossible for someone to get to your assets, you could decrease the likelihood of protracted litigation. At Stolar & Associates, our attorneys view asset protection is the art of figuring out and applying a lawful series of techniques that protect your assets from potential litigants, so that it makes sense for them to settle at cents on the dollar, rather than pursuing litigation.

At Stolar & Associates, some of the legal hurdles we employ for asset protection include:

• “Indirect prenuptials” can be used to protect assets from the spouses of children.
• Setting up a domestic trust in certain states, where, even though a grantor is potential beneficiary of the trust, the trust assets are still protected from creditors.
• Setting up a family limited partnership where a general partner has discretion to limit distributions of partnership income or assets.
• Creating lifetime gifts.
• Using life insurance as an asset protection vehicle (money infused into insurance and retirement planning is harder for litigants to reach).
• Transferring assets to a spouse or a trust.

Off-Shore Strategies

For those with larger estates, and thus larger potential creditor exposures, "off-shore" foreign trusts can be used to provide a high degree of asset protection. The advantage of off-shore trusts is realized when litigants and creditors search for your assets (even if they discover them in an off-shore trust) they will have to deal with the foreign trustee. United States courts have no jurisdiction over foreign trustees, and therefore are unable to provide any relief, so litigants may find no available remedy obtainable against an uncooperative foreign trustee.

However, if using an off-shore trustee does not provide the comfort level you desire, we are adept at creating innovative solutions with on-shore vehicles in other states. By doing so, you may save money through lower state and local tax rates.

Contact an Asset Protection Lawyer

To learn more about how our lawyers can create and implement an asset protection strategy for you, please call (310) 288-1828 or contact us online. Your initial consultation is free. Our experienced Los Angeles asset protection lawyer would be happy to evaluate your situation. Stolar & Associates is centrally located in Southern California, serving greater Los Angeles and surrounding areas.