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Thanks
to extraordinary housing appreciation in the past
few years, many homeowners in California are now millionaires.
If someone sues, homeowners have a lot more to lose.
If you own apartments, commercial properties, or a
business your chances of being sued are even greater.
One of my friends owns a successful business - she
was sued by one of her customers and found guilty
by jury in court. She had to sell all of her real
estate holdings in order to satisfy the judgment.
Are you as protected as you think you are?
Your
liability insurance to cover your property, business,
and automobile covers you only up to the policy limits.
A major tragedy or catastrophic accident can cause
a financial nightmare. If you or your teen-ager got
in a traffic accident, you could end up on the losing
end of a lawsuit. Or if your tenant got injured, you
could easily be sued. If you have a swimming pool,
you have increased risk.
You
might have a very high insurance coverage. The question
is, is that enough? How much coverage is going to
be enough? Is having insurance good enough to protect
your assets?
We
live in a very litigious society, its common knowledge
that nowadays people sue at the drop of a hat. Lawyers
are happy to take cases against real estate owners.
If
you're a real estate owner of any kind, and also own
cars, a stock portfolio, saving accounts, and other
substantial assets, just having higher insurance coverage
is NOT the answer. Instead, I strongly recommend you
have an Asset Protection strategy customized for your
specific situation. Asset Protection means your assets
are legally sheltered. Lawyers won't be able to find
your assets, so they won't bother suing you.
Asset
protection means using established and proven methods
to legally protect your lifestyle for your lifetime.
Asset Protection is a sophisticated formula combining
estate planning & tax analysis, emphasizing income
and inheritance savings while at the same time protecting
assets from present and future harm. True asset protection
is achieved by structuring your assets so that NO
PERSON or entity, other than those you have selected,
can ever touch those assets.
The
basic asset protection device used in our asset protection
planning consists of: (1) A Limited Partnership, (2)
A Limited Liability Company, and (3) A Trust. The
exact device and the structure to be used varied depending
on your specific situation and outcome you wish to
achieve. Here is what should be the goals of a good
Asset Protection/Estate Plan:
1.
Protect your assets from any predator (creditor).
2. You have control of your assets during your lifetime
3. Eliminate probate
4. Eliminate estate and inheritance taxes
5. Reduce, defer or even eliminate Federal and State
income and capital gains taxes
6. Allow you to direct distributions of your assets
after death
7. Allow you to modify your system
8. Have the ability to treat your system like building
blocks
9. Be certain that you are comfortable with your system
10. Laws change - Keep your system current
A
good asset protection plan redistributes the assets
on a balance sheet. A good plan does not render the
individual insolvent - a good plan simply makes it
difficult, if not impossible, for a creditor/predator
to get to the assets.
I
wish our society was like a utopia, but that's just
not the case. The reality is that we have to protect
what we have from those who would attempt to take
away our assets. A good Asset Protection Plan will
give you peace of mind and allow you to enjoy your
life to the fullest.
For
a no cost consultation about asset protection, please
contact me at (310) 800-6333 or e-mail: ytaguchi@scfsecurities.com
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