Asset Protection Planning

Asset Protection Planning involves creating a legal strategy to shield personal and business assets from potential risks, such as lawsuits, creditors or unexpected financial obligations. This planning uses various tools, including limited liability companies (LLCs), specific types of trusts, such as Ohio Legacy Trusts and other sophisticated legal structures to help individuals and businesses preserve their wealth and minimize exposure to liability. Properly executed, asset protection provides peace of mind and financial security, allowing you to focus on growing and preserving your wealth without fear of losing it to unforeseen circumstances.

It’s no secret that we live in a litigious environment where both individuals and organizations face threats to their wealth. Business owners, professionals and other high-net-worth individuals are all particularly vulnerable to lawsuits, civil money judgments and creditor claims. Without proactive asset protection, personal and business assets can be exposed to these risks. By structuring your assets with protective measures, you can reduce the chances of catastrophic financial loss, regardless of the industry you’re in or the assets you hold.

Careful titling of assets, and the use of trusts and LLC’s, are regular topics of conversation with our clients. When appropriate, the creation of an Ohio Legacy Trust can be a powerful tool. An Ohio Legacy Trust is a special type of domestic asset protection trust which is authorized by statute in Ohio that allows a person to irrevocably transfer assets to a third-party trustee, retain the right to benefit from the assets and place them out of the reach of most creditors if appropriate requirements are met. Because of the substantial reduction in control of the underlying assets, the Ohio Legacy Trust is not for everyone. But in the right circumstance, it can provide tremendous security against the uncertainties of a litigious society.