Protecting your assets from civil money judgments
Taking the appropriate legal steps to protect your assets from individuals and businesses who are seeking money judgments against you is critical to maintaining your long-term financial health.
Asset protection is sometimes called debtor-creditor law, and the goal is to insulate assets from creditors without concealing them or evading taxes. Asset protection is a fairly new legal concept, only becoming a stand-alone area of the law in the late 1970s.
In San Antonio and throughout the state of Texas, there are many ways to take steps to protect your assets, including the creation of a trust, corporation, limited partnership or a limited liability company.
Experts agree that the best way to protect assets is to take steps to shield them when times are good, so that you can already have a plan in place in case business ventures take a turn for the worse, you get sued, or other bad situations arise, and sooner or later, they always do.
If you take asset protection steps after a claim arises, you could be accused of a violation of fraudulent transfer laws. This can undo the steps you’ve taken in a hurry and could actually put you in even greater financial harm.
You should also understand that personal assets belong in trusts, while business assets belong in entities such as corporations, partnerships and LLCs. This provides the highest degree of asset protection backed by a long history of laws. And those who think placing money in offshore business ventures may be in for a rude awakening because courts are stepping up efforts to bring money back to the United States through repatriation orders.
Other attempts to hide or conceal assets are not a good idea either. That’s because creditors have become very sophisticated in tracking down assets. Your best bet is to create entities that are public in nature, but shielded from those who seek to separate you from your assets. Failing to disclose can lead to charges of perjury or bankruptcy fraud against you.
The Voeller Law Firm proudly serves San Antonio, Bexar County, Schertz, Garden Ridge and nearby Texas communities.
