Protecting your assets
If you woke up and found a process server at your door with an unexpected law suit in his hand, would you be facing the possible loss of your life savings or are your assets protected?
Protecting your assets used to be something reserved for the elite. Many people don't even know what the words "protecting your assets" mean. But that's quickly changing. The Internet is bringing this phenomenon, just as it has so many others, to the masses, with the web site of http://www.JoshBennett.com/ a leader in cyberspace. While no one can be completely "judgment proof", this site will show you how to be as protected as possible.
According to Josh Bennett an estate and asset protection planning expert in Miami (954) 779-1661, (305) 374-4445, Toll Free: (800) 616-0767, protecting your assets means protecting assets from creditors and lawsuits. It's a simple matter of being responsible with your wealth. The alternative is to take the chance that a careless business decision or a traffic accident or someone just filing a lawsuit against you for no good reason will deprive you and your family of all the money you've spent a lifetime saving.
Protect Yourself from Lawsuits
Just about anyone can be sued. Civil lawsuits are rising all over the country. The possibility of riches along with a growing attitude of making others take responsibility for one's own actions are what seems to be triggering this rise, according to Bennett. A perfect example is the golfer who parked his cart, not setting the brake, and ended up pinned by the rolling cart, only to sue the manufacturer for faulty brakes if your someone is driving your car you as owner of the car can be sued in the event of an accident.
Insurance Isn’t Always Enough
While many professionals, businesses and individuals carry some form of liability insurance, such as malpractice insurance, doing so does not completely protect you, and it does not offer nearly as much protection as proper asset protection. What few realize is that you can be sued well past the limits of your insurance. If you have even a million dollar umbrella policy and lose in a 10 million dollar suit, you will owe that money personally.
Insurance doesn't protect you if, say, they have personally guaranteed a business loan and that business fails. It doesn't protect you if you are accused of gross negligence or recklessness.
Asset Protection vs. Liability Insurance
Those who think that their insurance is all that they need, should think again!
Liability insurance doesn't do anything to prevent you from being sued in the first place. In fact, knowing that you have insurance coverage actually encourages people to file lawsuits against you, because it lets them know that you will be able to pay them lots of money if they win in court. Properly protecting your assets usually prevents others from filing a lawsuit in the first place. With properly protected assets the opposing attorney will often not take the case because he or she knows they won't be able to collect in the end. Since most of these cases work on a "contingency fee" (the lawyer gets nothing unless his or her client collects) these cases become very unattractive Unlike insurance, which attracts law suits, asset protection keeps law suits away. Liability insurance can also be more expensive than proper asset protection. Proper asset protection often allows people to reduce or eliminate their liability insurance coverage.
Asset Protection Utilizing Offshore Trusts
There are however, a number of ways to protect your assets from creditors and lawsuits. They are perfectly legal, when planned by someone experienced in the field.
Generally, in order to even attempt to get the assets protected by the trust, someone will have to hire a lawyer in the country in which the trusts are established (where it will be illegal for the lawyer to work on a contingency fee). They must then convince a court in that country that it has the authority to hear the case, even though the case involves conduct which occurred far away in the United States. If they succeed in this, and the case proceeds, the person who filed the lawsuit will still have to contend with laws which forbid the court from awarding any of the money in the trust. Because it is so difficult, if not impossible, to get this money, very few people will even bother to try. Almost everyone will simply try to go after someone else instead and may be very happy to accept even the smallest settlement offer.
As a rule, the only way an offshore trust can fail to help protect assets, is if the beneficiary waits to set up the trust until after someone is already going after their money. But as long as the trust is set up well in advance of any such dispute, then the trust beneficiary will protect their assets as one can. To begin protecting your assets, set up an appointment Josh Bennett or another qualified legal professional to learn more.
The Typical Asset Protection Candidate
Anyone with $250,000.00 in assets or more is the typical client. If you have enough in the way of assets to wonder if you need this protection, you should see someone qualified in the field to learn more.