Asset Protection Lawyers in Georgia Providing Proactive Legal Planning

You worked hard all your life for what you have, and it’s important to ensure that those hard-earned assets are protected. While many people believe that their assets pass directly to their beneficiaries, this isn’t always the case. If you have outstanding debts, your estate could be much less than what you think, and there are also estate taxes to factor in. However, there are asset protection options you can use now to ensure that you leave as much of your estate to your loved ones as possible. Learn more about asset protection planning and how an attorney can help.

If you’re not sure what the best strategy is to protect your property, an asset protection lawyer can help. At Lunn Law LLC, our legal team has experience with all aspects of estate planning, including creating a proactive asset protection plan. Call our office today to find out more.

What Is Asset Protection in Estate Planning?

An asset protection plan is a way to ensure that your beneficiaries get as much of your intended assets as possible. In particular, these plans provide financial protection against assets being taken by creditors after your passing and can help you limit the amount of estate taxes that are taken out. In most cases, your estate is settled before assets are disbursed to beneficiaries, and if there are a large number of debts, this can significantly lower the value of your estate and what your beneficiaries inherit.

What Types of Assets Can Be Protected With an Estate Plan?

A good asset protection strategy works with your larger estate plan to ensure that both your business and personal assets are protected. Some of the assets that can be protected include your home, investment accounts, vehicles, and bank accounts. An asset protection plan can also protect personal items, such as jewelry, furniture, and other valuables. If you have business assets, your asset protection plan can include those as well so that your business can carry on after you’re gone unimpeded. Each asset protection plan is unique and tailored to the needs of the individual, so it’s important to discuss your options with an experienced estate planning attorney.

What Are the Options for Protecting My Assets?

In order to develop the right asset protection plan, an attorney must consider your larger financial picture as well as your estate planning goals. An asset protection plan for someone with a large value estate and many beneficiaries could be very different from one for someone with one beneficiary and low net worth. Some of the options to legally protect your assets include:

• Domestic asset protection trusts
• Offshore trusts
• An irrevocable trust
• A third-party discretionary trust
• Limited liability companies
• Life insurance policies
• Strategic gifting
• Retirement accounts

The right asset protection strategy for you might include one or many of these products, so it’s important to speak with an attorney before moving forward. In some cases, such as with gifting assets to family members before you pass, there are specific rules for how they must be done to avoid high taxes and legal problems.

What Should I Look for in an Asset Protection Attorney in Georgia?

When you are looking for an attorney to help you with the asset protection process, the most important factor to look for is that they have experience successfully providing clients with asset protection services. Schedule a consultation where you can ask about the firm’s asset protection work and what strategies they’ve recommended to clients who had a similar financial situation as you.

It’s a good idea to be prepared to talk about your goals with your asset protection strategy and your larger estate plan, but most of the deep discussion on these topics happens after you’ve decided to hire the law firm. At Lunn Law LLC, we know how important it is for you to be able to protect your assets and ensure that you are able to pass down more than memories to your loved ones.

Estate taxes and creditors can take a big chunk of your assets after you pass on, but there are options that can help. Talk to an asset protection lawyer at Lunn Law LLC to learn more about your options and to take steps toward protecting your assets today. You can call our office at 770-762-4628 to schedule a consultation and get started.