Lawsuits are designed to resolve genuine disputes and ensure fairness. However, not every case that makes its way into court has merit. Some lawsuits are widely viewed as frivolous—cases filed with little or no legal…
An asset protection trust is either a domestic irrevocable trust or an offshore trust. They have different costs depending on the type of trust. Initial Setup Costs The main expense is the cost of establishing…
If you are married and only one spouse has been sued, you cannot move the assets from one spouse to another in order to protect them. Such a transfer is considered a fraudulent conveyance. However,…
Many clients ask us whether they should create a new business as a Subchapter S Corporation or as a Limited Liability Company. How you organize a new business has both tax consequences and asset protection…
A spendthrift clause is a special trust provision that protects trust assets from a beneficiary’s creditors. It also prevents a beneficiary from using trust assets as collateral for a loan. When a trust has a…
This interesting question was the subject of a Pennsylvania bankruptcy case. Pennsylvania law recognizes tenants by entireties exemption, and Pennsylvania law prohibits wage garnishments. A married debtor filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy individually. For most of…
Over many years we have seen some of our clients make mistakes in asset protection planning. Here are the most common ones:
Summary If your child causes a car accident in Florida, you may be exposed to civil liability for the child’s negligence. A money judgment could be entered against you for the victim’s injury even if…
Why Do People Want to Hide Money? We occasionally receive requests from clients who want to hide assets from their husband or wife. Most of these clients want to hide money from their spouse for…
Florida law allows you to protect unexempt assets at any time by purchasing a Florida homestead. A key feature of Florida homestead law is the homestead’s exemption from fraudulent conversion claims brought under Florida’s fraudulent conversion statute….
A non-owner spouse does have a legal interest in their Florida homestead property. A couple can arrange to have only one of two spouses own the couple’s homestead property. A married person can maintain a legal…
A homestead under construction is not protected from creditors. Your property is not exempt under Florida Homestead law just because you intend to occupy the property sometime in the future. Property reserved for a future…
Can a condominium qualify as Florida homestead in an action to terminate a condominium association even if you don’t live there? Under a Florida condominium statute, section 718.117, an owner who resides in a condo…
The answer is yes. When you prepay taxes to the IRS or make an excessive tax payment, a judgment creditor has no method to get the money back. A judgment creditor cannot garnish the IRS…
When it comes to safeguarding your home from creditors, Florida’s homestead exemption provides one of the strongest protections in the United States. However, many homeowners wonder about the extent of this protection, especially concerning federal…
The Kelley’s Homestead Paradigm is a flowchart created by attorney Rohan Kelley. It shows what happens to a Florida homestead property once the owner dies. The paradigm includes six primary questions and then outlines what…
Florida law provides judgment creditors numerous means to find information about a debtor’s income and assets. Discovery in aid of execution in Florida refers to the legal process by which a judgment creditor finds (discovers) debtor assets…
Florida homestead law does apply to mobile homes. They are not protected under the Florida Constitution, but they are protected under section 222.05 of the Florida Statutes. The statute provides that mobile homeowners and occupants…
What Is a Single-Purpose LLC? A single-purpose LLC is a limited liability company that owns a single asset. Most often, single-purpose LLCs hold a particular real property or they own certain intellectual property such as…
Sometimes clients ask me about loan contracts they may have signed many years ago. These contracts often have a section or paragraph that states the borrower waives all of the statutory exemptions, including their homestead…
A divorce designed for asset protection does not usually protect assets because courts can still find that transfers made according to a marital settlement agreement are fraudulent transfers. Some clients ask me whether getting divorced…
What Is the Corporate Transparency Act? The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) is a new federal law that requires LLCs and corporations in Florida and other states to file certain personal information about the beneficial owners…
Suppose a person is moving to Florida from New York and asks how he can protect his successful business as part of an asset protection plan. The business grosses over $3 million in annual revenue….
Joint ownership of property describes two or more people who own real or personal property together. There are three types of joint ownership in Florida: Each type of joint ownership has different legal consequences for estate…
Quick answer: a judgment creditor cannot take your home. A Florida homestead is completely protected from execution of money judgments. If someone sues you, they can take several steps to collect your assets to satisfy…
People facing a civil judgment often try to protect non-exempt cash by investing it in a Florida homestead. Some debtors seek advantage of the unlimited value of Florida’s Constitutional homestead exemption by buying a new,…
The Florida Constitution protects a person’s homestead from forced levy or sale by judgment creditors. The protection applies if the home is occupied by either the judgment debtor or the debtor’s family. In other words,…
If a business is facing financial difficulty, the business owner is usually concerned about what will happen to the business assets and their personal assets if the business can’t pay its lenders. The inability to…
Bank accounts owned by a married couple are protected from the creditors of either spouse if the account is owned as tenants by the entireties. When a married couple opens a new bank account, they…
Most drivers in Florida carry auto insurance. But sometimes the amount of this insurance is not enough to cover the injured person’s medical bills and loss of income. What happens if the car accident claim…
I got a call from a Florida businessman who owned a business in Jacksonville which had been sued. The court awarded a judgment against the business, but there is no judgment against the owner personally. The…
An entrepreneur builds a profitable business with many years of hard work, long hours, and some luck. Dreaming of an exit and comfortable retirement, he makes the business available for sale. A larger company makes a…
A vacation home LLC is a family business that allows a vacation home owner to pass down their property, specifying how the property can be used and how decisions will be made. Many people from…
Protecting real estate after a lawsuit is filed against you is relatively difficult. Creditor collection remedies targeting real estate are easy and effective, and that real estate is fixed in place and cannot be moved…
Most withdrawals or distributions from retirement accounts can be protected even after being deposited into a bank account. The protection is dependent on state law and proper asset protection design. IRA, Pension and 401k Retirement…
Landlords who lease residential or commercial property to tenants should be concerned about liability stemming from the tenant or guests of the tenant. For example, a tenant or a guest of the tenant could become…
Suppose an employee has a stock purchase plan with his employer under IRS Code 423. The employer’s stock is publically traded. The plan gives the employee the option to receive stock in the employer company…
Tenants by entireties bank accounts can be tricky. Florida law provides that a joint marital bank account is presumed to be an exempt tenancy by entireties account unless there is contrary evidence. The issue is…
Inheritance of a Florida homestead is fast and easy. A Florida homestead is not subject to probate. Probate proceedings involve only assets subject to creditor claims. The Florida homestead is exempt from creditors, so it…
Many Russian oligarchs own homes in Florida. Even Vladimir Putin himself this week called out Russians “who have a villa in Miami or the French Riviera.” A reporter called me this week and asked if…
