Asset protection law (sometimes also referred to as debtor-creditor law) is a body of statutory laws and court precedents that can be used to protect assets from civil money judgments.  Asset protection laws are constantly changing as statutes are updated and new cases are published.  This website provides updated material relevant to asset protection law.  Because tax laws must be analyzed as part of any asset protection plan, this website also includes tax information relating to asset protection law.  We do not attempt to address bankruptcy law, Medicaid law, divorce law, or criminal law, because we consider these to be separate and distinct from asset protection law.

Federal and state laws support asset protection planning if done for ethically appropriate purposes and within limits defined by the law.  By its very nature, asset protection law involves conflicts among the laws of various jurisdictions, including conflicts between state and federal law.  Thus, “choice-of-law” becomes a critical sub-category of asset protection law.  For example, if a California corporation obtains a judgment against a Nevada resident who owns a home in Texas and an interest in a Delaware limited liability company, which laws control the ability of the California corporation to attach the assets of the debtor?  If the debtor files for bankruptcy, how do the federal bankruptcy laws change this analysis?  If a government agency also has a claim against the debtor, how does this change the analysis?  As you can see, asset protection planning is a complex and multijurisdictional practice area that requires a high degree of specialization.  Asset protection planning is legal work and should only be done by those who are qualified and licensed to do so.  Information provided on this website is for general informational purposes and should not be used as legal advice for any specific situation.

This website includes summaries of court cases relating to asset protection.  However, a review of court cases can be misleading because the best asset protection plans rarely go to court and never result in a published opinion or legal precedent.  In many cases, the creditor never becomes aware of the existence of assets that were legally transferred and protected before the creditor became involved with the debtor.  In other cases, the creditor is aware of the assets but the creditor is not willing to expend time and money by commencing litigation when there is little chance of a recovery.  Many other cases result in a creditor accepting a nominal settlement when a creditor realizes that something today is better than an unpredictable amount after a long and expensive battle.  The case studies included above present factual situations which demonstrate the effectiveness of various asset protection strategies which did not result in a published court opinion.

I do asset protection planning that is ethical, professional, efficient, thoughtful, and eminently effective.  If you would like a free analysis and proposal for your own situation, please call me or send me an email regarding your circumstances and objectives and I will respond with a detailed recommendation.