The Three Pillars of Asset Protection

We advocate the following Three Pillars of Protection:

1. Own exempt assets. By owning assets that have either federal or state statutory protection (exemption) from lawsuits and creditors, you have instant protection. Non-exempt assets should be a minimal part of your portfolio.

2. Place the title to your assets in one or more protective entities. This practice prevents a judgment creditor from seizing sheltered assets. Domestic or foreign entities are ideal candidates for the distribution of assets.

3. Encumber or equity-strip your own assets. By fully mortgaging or encumbering your exposed assets and shielding the loan proceeds to reduce the amount vulnerable to a litigant you can become an unattractive target to a litigant.

We augment these three fundamental legal concepts with eight firewall tactics in our planning:

1. Corporations.
2. Limited partnerships.
3. Limited liability companies.
4. Federal and state exemptions.
5. Co-ownerships.
6. Domestic trusts.
7. Debt-shields.
8. International entities.

Obviously, each firewall has its distinctive characteristics, strengths and weaknesses, advantages and disadvantages. The job of The Presser Law Firm, P.A. is to expertly blend these various firewalls into your ideal plan.

Most entities and strategies fall within one of the eight-firewall categories. For instance, limited liability partnerships are variations of limited partnerships and limited liability companies and professional limited liability companies (PLLCs) are another variation, each with their own distinctive qualities that can be used for protection.

We cannot present every possible firewall in this website. But we have chosen to present the most common and effective strategies, noting that our Asset Protection texts (written specifically for members of the legal community) have many more advanced legal and financial methodologies and strategies. These complex arrangements have the potential to provide financial as well as protective benefits. For example, some Presser Law Firm, P.A.'s plans employ structured financial products (SFPs), which are complex arbitrage arrangements that effectively shift wealth between spouses with differing liability exposures. We also frequently use insurance products to shield our client's wealth. Some basic protective maneuvers such as "exposed cash" can prepay certain expenses or repay a favored creditor when properly deployed.

PROTECT YOUR ASSETS TODAY!