How Can an Estate Planning Lawyer Help Protect My Assets?

It’s wise to be concerned with how to best protect the assets of your estate. The goal is always to ensure that as much goes to your loved ones as possible, and according to your specific instructions, while as little as possible is lost through waste or taxes. You also want to ensure everything is clear and legal, so there will be no issues when it comes time for probate. A Houston, TX estate planning lawyer can help you with every step.

How Can a Houston, TX Estate Planning Lawyer Help Protect My Assets?

A lawyer can help you to protect your assets in a number of ways, from creating a comprehensive estate plan to helping you set up limited liability companies or trusts so you can separate personal assets from business assets and minimize taxes. A lawyer can also make sure you take advantage of every legal tool available and properly structure your estate to keep it safe from all risks and threats; not just from taxes, but also from exposure to lawsuits or creditors.

An estate planning lawyer can also function as your executor or be an advisor to your executor to ensure everything in your estate is dealt with according to your wishes and no mistakes are made that could compromise the estate or expose loved ones to liability or loss. Here are just a few strategies a lawyer may suggest, but bear in mind the details of a plan that’s right for you will be dependent on the unique circumstances of your estate (and wishes).

Form a Limited Liability Companies (LLC)

For a business owner, an LLC is one of the best ways to protect assets as it provides a way to separate personal assets from business ones. This means you, your estate, and your heirs would not be personally liable for any claims that are brought against your business. There are also protections for your business assets in an LLC, since a charging order would allow a creditor to receive distributions that the LLC may pay out but prevents them from forcing the owner to make payments.

Get Proper Insurance Coverage

Insurance is a simple step for protecting all kinds of assets but one that many forget. Your lawyer can help you review all your insurance policies to make sure your estate is guarded against liability on every front. From homeowner’s insurance to commercial liability insurance for a business or even umbrella coverage, your insurance can protect your assets both in the short term and the long term. Your lawyer can also help you to explore long-term healthcare insurance policies, as these can protect your assets in the event that you require extensive and expensive healthcare towards the end of life.

Gift Your Assets Early

One of the best ways to protect your assets is to take advantage of the opportunity to gift money or assets early, before your passing. You can gift these assets directly to a family member, charity, or in another direction, and though there are limits to the amount that you can gift tax-free, the amounts you may gift are not unsubstantial and can make a big difference if you take advantage of them every year.

Take Advantage of Trust Options

Trusts are a great way to protect your wealth. Once you transfer assets to an irrevocable trust, you no longer legally own them, and, yet, you can still retain direct control of what happens to them through the trustee you appoint. Obviously, appointing a qualified and reliable trustee is important here, and your lawyer will run through what needs to be done to ensure your trust assets are safe. Because of the way trusts are structured, they are very difficult for a creditor to get hold of even in a lawsuit, and they also minimize the tax burden for your estate.

Max Out Your Retirement Accounts

Retirement accounts are protected by the law from many things that would normally threaten your assets. This makes an IRA or 401(k) a great way to protect some of your assets. It can be a good strategy for some people to maximize contributions to these accounts every year, but your lawyer can tell you more about what’s best for your specific situation.

Protect Your Real Estate

Here in Texas, the homestead exemption is a great way to protect a real estate asset under the right circumstances. Any real estate that functions as a debtor’s primary residence is protected from debt collection, and, unlike in some states, there is no limit to the allowed value. It must be the debtor’s permanent personal residence, be held in that person’s name, and meet some basic acreage limitations to qualify, but this may be a strong strategy for you to work through with your lawyer under certain circumstances.

Combine Strategies as Needed

For most estates, the best strategy will be a combination of some of these mentioned above and others that your lawyer may suggest. There are specific legal tools available for each asset in your portfolio, from liquid cash to real estate, business equity, high-value goods, and more. One mistake we often see a person make is looking at each of these asset protection strategies singularly, as if each one can only be applied and considered by itself. One of the benefits that a lawyer will bring to your estate planning is the ability to think creatively about how to combine and customize each strategy so it is most useful for your estate.

As just one example, you might consider forming an offshore trust for your business and also turning your business into a limited liability company at the same time. When you then transfer ownership of the LLC to the overseas trustee, the assets go into the company’s name so that your LLC owns the assets, while the trust owns the LLC. This allows you to still manage your company while a trustee is manager of the trust itself, essentially giving you a kind of double protection while still allowing you to retain some control.

As you can see, however, things can get complicated. It’s also very important that you avoid any accusations of fraud, and this can happen when mistakes are made setting up a complicated asset protection strategy. It’s important to avoid accidentally doing anything illegal, which might happen if you don’t have a qualified and experienced Texas estate planning attorney guiding you at each step.

Contact Us Today to Learn More

At Hensley & Krueger, PLLC, we have over 50 years of combined experience in estate planning, probate, forming businesses, and business litigation, among other things. We understand that estate planning is both a personal and a legal matter, and we apply the highest attention to detail to each client’s situation so that every asset you have will be shielded from taxes, litigation, and the uncertainties of probate court.

To ensure that your estate is protected and your wishes carried out, contact us at Hensley & Krueger, PLLC in Houston, TX today to schedule a consultation.