Although Liberty Legal Solutions, LLC, focuses on business law and civil litigation services, I get a lot of inquiries about wills, and even more about trusts.  While there are other lawyers out there who focus exclusively (and expensively) on estate planning, it's almost expected in Oklahoma that if you have a business law firm, like Liberty Legal Solutions, LLC, then you need to offer some estate planning services, too.  At Liberty Legal Solutions, LLC, we do offer asset protection and estate planning services, and in today's Freedom Friday blog and email newsletter, we're going to introduce this topic.

So, what is an asset protection plan, and how might this be different from an estate plan?  First of all, everyone has assets, even if you're not a high net worth individual.  If you own your own home, you have an asset.  If you have a life insurance policy, then you have an asset.  If you own your own business, as many of our clients do, then you definitely have an asset.  If you do have an asset or assets, then those assets are worth protecting.  The main purpose of an asset protection plan is to protect those assets, and usually this can be accomplished with a trust.

Now, if you're a high net worth individual, you should especially be concerned with protecting your assets.  Regardless of how you might protect your assets, you need to set up the asset protection plan before you're threatened with a lawsuit, or some other kind of legal action.  If you transfer assets into a trust when there is a threatened or actual legal claim against you, that can be interpreted as a “fraudulent transfer,” and depending on the circumstances, can be unlawful in Oklahoma.  If there is no thereat of legal action against you, now is the time to create an asset protection plan if you don't have one.

Even if you're not a high net worth individual, you need to give some thought to protecting your assets and family in the event of your incapacity or passing.  If you own your own home, have children, and/or a life insurance policy, then at minimum, a revocable living trust is a good choice to protect your assets.  However, there are other options available, and its best to discuss those options with an attorney before making a decision on whether or not you need asset protection or an estate plan, and what type of plan would be best for your personal circumstances.

If you are interested in starting a small business anywhere in Oklahoma, or you need legal help building, protecting, or defending your small business or other assets, please contact me at [email protected] to schedule a FREE strategy session.

For more information about Liberty Legal Solutions, LLC, please visit our website at http://www.libertylegalok.com/