Many of our clients are concerned about protecting and preserving their assets for themselves as well as their heirs. It is well established in estate planning that one can dispose of his or her assets in any manner one desires. Rather than giving assets outright to a surviving spouse, child, grandchild or other beneficiary, where the assets may be subject to seizure by the beneficiary’s creditors, a bankruptcy trustee, the IRS or an ex-spouse, the assets can be left in a protected trust for the beneficiary.

Access Trust™

More than fifty percent of all marriages end up in divorce. The vast majority of our clients are very concerned that an inheritance left to a child or grandchild will end up with the beneficiary’s ex-spouse. Our law firm has developed the Access Trust™ as a strategy to protect against this eventuality. The Access Trust™ allows the beneficiary to “access” the trust income and principal and control the manner in which the trust assets are invested while keeping the trust assets segregated as the beneficiary’s separate property. Giving your beneficiary his or her inheritance in an Access Trust™ can reduce or eliminate the need for a prenuptial agreement should the beneficiary later marry as well as assure that trust assets remain within the client’s bloodline and not in the possession of an ex-spouse who the client may not like or even know during his or her lifetime. The Access Trust™ is our law firm’s most popular asset protection strategy.

Sentry Trust™

While the Access Trust™ provides divorce protection for the beneficiary, it offers no protection from judgment creditors, a bankruptcy trustee, or the IRS. To get this level of protection, we offer our clients the Sentry Trust™. The Sentry Trust™ can be invested to benefit a child or other beneficiary with creditor problems without the fear that the trust principal will be subject to attachment by the creditor. The Sentry Trust™ is popular with our clients who have children in occupations with a high risk for being sued for malpractice (such as doctors, surgeons, attorneys, real estate developers, architects and small business owners) as well as children who have gotten themselves into financial difficulties (large debt, past due spousal support, potential bankruptcy, or trouble with the IRS and other taxing authorities). The Sentry Trust™ can also be used to rein in beneficiaries who cannot control their spending habits or that have an uncontrollable addiction. Sentry Trusts™ can also be drafted in a manner to encourage beneficiaries to behave in a protective manner, such as providing a monetary incentive to graduate from college or assisting with the down payment for the purchase of a first residence.

Protection for Surviving Spouses and Children from a Previous Relationship

Our law firm has found that we are preparing estate plans for more and more blended families, with children from previous relationships as well as the current marriage. In these types of situations, a client may be concerned that his or her new spouse may enter into another relationship after the death of the client. The client may wish to provide for the well-being of the spouse, but assure that the client’s assets do not end up with the spouse’s children from a previous relationship or the spouse’s new significant other rather than his or her children or other designated beneficiaries. An estate plan can be drafted in a manner to guaranty the client’s assets will be distributed to his or her children while providing for the care of the surviving spouse. In some circumstances the client can even require the surviving spouse to enter into a prenuptial agreement in the event of remarriage, or forfeit control and /or access to the trust funds in favor of an immediate distribution to the children or other designated beneficiaries of the deceased spouse.

Asset Protection for Professionals, Business Owners and Real Estate Investors

Doctors, dentists, lawyers, architects and other professionals, as well as entrepreneurs such as business owners and real estate developers are at high risk of being sued for negligence or malpractice. Business owners and real investors are often the target of lawsuits relating to breach of contract or injuries suffered on the job or while on the owner’s property. There are many planning strategies to protect assets, some relatively easy and simple to implement and others much more complicated and costly – these planning strategies can be put in place in advance of being sued in order to protect the assets of professionals, business owners and real estate investors. These asset protection strategies range from incorporation and creation of Limited Liability Companies and other business entities, use of qualified personal residence trusts, and the factoring of business receivables to the creation of family limited partnerships, domestic asset protection trusts and foreign asset protection trusts. Assets can be sold to an Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust to achieve asset protection, receive income and estate tax advantages and shift wealth to future generations. If you are a professional, business owner or real estate investor interested in learning more about these planning strategies, call our office to schedule a free, one-hour consultation with Mr. Sandoval.

Coordination of Asset Protection Planning With Estate Planning

Our law firm specializes in merging the asset protection strategies described above and many more with the design and implementation of a comprehensive estate plan. Concentration on just asset protection issues or just estate planning issues will leave serious gaps in the client’s overall financial plan. In creating an asset protection plan, our law firm reviews all the components of an overall financial plan – projected cash flows, future growth of assets, planning for retirement, reduction of income and estate taxes and the maximization of the transfer of wealth to future generations, including the complicated social, psychological and financial issues of transitioning a family business to future generations, or in some cases, to its non-family employees. We have the knowledge to look at your financial puzzle pieces and assemble them in the best manner possible to protect your wealth for now as well as for future generations.