Naples Asset Protection Attorneys

Asset protection is akin to estate planning in that it can be overlooked by people who need it and for all of the wrong reasons. The misconception is that you need significant valuables to worry about asset protection or even estate planning. Your home, the bank account you spent a lifetime building, and the things you want to leave behind for your family after you have passed on are assets. When it comes to the future of your family, that is something you want to shield and protect.

There are many different tasks an asset protection lawyer can do for you. A good lawyer can set up a trust to help shield your Naples home, and they can take the lead in Medicaid planning if you need to live in an assisted living facility. There are no wrong reasons for consulting with an attorney, but there many good reasons for making that first appointment.

What Does Asset Protection Mean?

Asset protection means taking the necessary steps to ensure that life events or unexpected lawsuits do not deplete your valuables. Your assets are anything you own that can be liquidated into cash. This includes jewelry, your paid-for home, a car with no more payments on it, and the cash in your bank account. Without a plan in place, a creditor could sue you and take some or all of your assets.

Asset protection is also a means to protect against life events that could cause you to lose much of your assets. Long-term care insurance and proper Medicaid planning can be used together to make sure that the cost of assisted living does not empty your bank account and force you to sell the family home. A Naples Asset Protection Lawyer is your best ally when it comes to preserving your goals for the future of your family.

Finding The Right Professional

The right professional is someone who has years of experience in developing protection plans. This includes experience in estate planning, bankruptcy, personal finance, foreclosure, and a variety of other related legal and accounting fields. You want an attorney who is focused on asset protection and risk management, and someone who has passed the bar exam in all of the relevant fields.

The purpose of a specialized professional is to analyze your assets and determine which tools are best to shield your wealth from creditors. Your experienced professional will also know how to defer major costs, such as with Medicaid planning, to make sure that you are not forced to liquidate your assets to pay for your long-term care needs.

What About That Website I Saw That Said I Could Protect My Own Assets?

When it comes to legal matters, nothing is worse than a do-it-yourself solution. Something as important and complicated as asset protection requires an experienced professional to properly, and that is why you invest in a good Naples Asset Protection Lawyer. An experienced professional is going to know what types of legal and accounting devices to use to create a plan that is customized for your specific needs. A professional will also be able to make sure that all of the proper paperwork is completed and filed the right way.

Trying a DIY approach from a website can save you money on legal fees right now. But how will you maintain your protection plan? Who will you ask for advice when your asset situation changes? What will you do years from now when you get sued for a car accident that was deemed to be your fault and the DIY asset protection program you submitted was incomplete? You could lose everything if you don’t rely on the services of a trained professional.

Using Your Will

A will is the most common tool used, yet it can be extremely effective. Your experienced attorney will know what clauses to put in your will that will offer solid protection for your assets after you have passed away. Your will is where you designate the administrator of your estate, and it is the plan the probate court will use to carry out your last wishes.

Long-Term Health Care

A devoted professional not only protects your family after you have passed away, but they also protect you and your family while you are still alive. No one ever plans on living in an assisted living facility, but it can happen to anyone. Your hired professional can help you do the Medicaid planning necessary to file all of the paperwork Medicaid needs to process your claim.

Asset planning also means implementing a long-term care insurance policy that will protect your personal assets from being used to pay for your assisted living arrangement. Without this type of insurance, all of your liquid assets (including the family home) will be taken to pay for your ongoing care. But with this insurance in place, the financial future of your family is protected.

Trusts And LLCs

A trust is a legal structure that allows you to transfer ownership of all of your assets to a legal entity that you operate. If someone tries to sue you for your personal assets, they will find it very difficult to access your assets that are protected by a trust.

A limited liability company (LLC) is a legal structure normally reserved for businesses, but it can also be used to help protect your assets. An LLC is extremely versatile when it comes to the ways in which it can be set up, and it is also able to help shield assets from certain tax laws and other financial benefits.

When To Start

Asset protection is just like life insurance in that it is done to protect against unexpected events. No matter how old you are or what you have in financial assets, the best time to set up your asset protection plan is right now. Your Naples Asset Protection Lawyer will give you options on plan maintenance, and you should be prepared to put some time every year into updating your program. But the more you wait not having an estate planning attorney, the more you are exposing your assets to harm.

If you are currently involved in a lawsuit that threatens your valuables, then it is too late for asset protection. If you went to an attorney now and tried to shield your assets, the courts will deny your plan and you could lose everything. Life can be unpredictable, and there is no benefit in waiting around for something bad to happen before you decide to make your move.

Our highly-skilled and experienced asset protection lawyers are waiting to help put together the perfect plan for your situation. We can cover everything from trust creation to Medicaid planning, and we will make sure we put together a program that is flexible enough to grow with you. As you add assets, we will help you to update your plan and keep yourself protected. Don’t take a chance with the financial future of your family. Contact one of our Naples Asset Protection lawyers today and let us introduce you to the benefits of asset protection.