Mesa Asset Protection Planning Attorney
Planning is an important step in the estate planning process, regardless of age, health, and wealth.
Protecting the assets you’ve worked hard to build is an important part of securing your financial future. Whether you own a local business, have accumulated investment properties, are preparing for retirement, or want to preserve wealth for your children and grandchildren, asset protection planning can help reduce risk and provide greater peace of mind.
Asset protection planning uses proactive legal strategies to help shield your assets from potential creditors, lawsuits, and other financial liabilities. When implemented before legal issues arise, these strategies can strengthen your financial position while complementing your estate plan and long-term financial goals.
As one of Arizona’s largest cities, Mesa offers opportunities for individuals, families, and business owners to build wealth through homeownership, entrepreneurship, and investing. As your financial portfolio grows, so does the importance of having legal strategies in place to protect your assets from unexpected risks.
Depending on your needs, asset protection planning may involve trusts, limited liability companies (LLCs), corporations, family limited partnerships, and other legal entities that help separate personal and business assets. Combined with appropriate insurance coverage, these strategies can provide multiple layers of protection and reduce your exposure to unnecessary financial risk.
At Kierman Law, we help individuals, families, and business owners throughout Mesa develop customized asset protection strategies designed around their unique financial circumstances and long-term objectives. If you’re looking for an experienced Mesa asset protection attorney, contact Kierman Law to schedule a consultation and learn how proactive planning can help protect your wealth for years to come.
Asset Protection Strategies
| Strategy | Beneficiary? | When are the Assets Protected? | Features of Strategy |
| Insurance (property, auto, business, etc.) | Client | During Client’s Lifetime | First line of defense against liability. In order to be effective, ensure that policy limits are in line with current assets and net worth. Also, confirm that coverage is still adequate. |
| Tenants by Entirety | Client | During Client’s Lifetime | In applicable states, this type of ownership between a married couple protects the property from the creditors of one of the spouses. Depending upon your state law, this may be limited to real property. |
| Investing in Retirement Accounts | Client | During Client’s Lifetime | 401(k)s and IRAs (excluding inherited IRAs) are protected from creditors in bankruptcy (with certain limitations). In addition to protecting these assets, you are also growing your retirement fund. |
| Domestic Asset Protection Trust (DAPT) | Client | During Client’s Lifetime | Allows you to fund the trust with your own property, maintain an interest in the trust as a beneficiary, and protect the trust’s assets from your creditors. Only allowed in states with DAPT statutes. |
| Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT) | Spouse | During Client’s Lifetime | A trust established for the benefit of your spouse. Should you be sued, these funds are not available to creditors and can be used by your spouse to support the family. |
| Lifetime Qualified Terminal Interest Property (QTIP) Trust | Spouse | During Client’s Lifetime and At Client’s Death | During the less wealthy spouse’s lifetime, they will receive all income and possibly the principal. If the less wealthy spouse dies first, assets will be included in their estate, making use of their estate tax exemption. Funds may continue for the benefit of the surviving spouse and distributed to the wealthier spouse’s chosen heirs. |
| Discretionary Trust | Spouse and/or Children | During Client’s Lifetime and At Client’s Death | Funds are held and invested by a trustee and are only distributed on a discretionary basis according to your stated wishes. Can be a standalone trust but can also be incorporated with other trusts. |
| Credit Shelter Trust | Spouse | At Client’s Death | Spouse is the beneficiary of the trust, but it is not considered a part of his or her estate. If the surviving spouse remarries, the assets cannot be commingled with those of a new spouse. |
| Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) | Spouse and/or Children | At Client’s Death | Holds life insurance proceeds for the intended beneficiaries as opposed to distributing them outright. Can also provide liquidity for owners of illiquid assets (farms, businesses, etc.). |
| Standalone Retirement Trust (SRT) | Children | At Client’s Death | Holds an inherited IRA, or other qualified retirement account, for the benefit of a named individual(s). Protects the inherited account from the beneficiary’s creditors because the beneficiary is only entitled to distributions according to the trust terms. |
| Inheritor’s Trust | Children/Grand-children | At Client’s Death | Gives the beneficiary control over the assets while allowing for protection from creditors. Beneficiary will have the power to appoint or remove the trustee and replace the trustee with a different one. The trustee has the authority to make distributions. |
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