HOUSTON ASSET PROTECTION LAWYER
WANT A SECURE FUTURE FOR YOUR FAMILY?
We all want to protect our accumulated assets. Usually, when people engage in estate planning, they have substantial wealth and are looking for the best asset protection strategies. Maybe it’s for their retirement or the future needs of their loved ones. They may also have inherited wealth that they’ve been managing so far but that they want to preserve.
With some foresight and the assistance of a skilled Houston asset protection lawyer, you can ensure that your wealth will be safe from excessive taxation, creditors, and potential lawsuits.
At Your Legacy Legal Care in Houston, our asset protection attorneys have extensive experience with estate planning laws in Texas involving asset protection. When you come to one of our convenient Houston offices—whether for an initial consultation or follow-up meetings regarding your estate—we will listen carefully to your needs and concerns to work out a strategy that offers you and your family maximum protection.
EVERYONE IS POTENTIALLY AT RISK OF LAWSUITS
Though we think doctors and celebrities are the only ones likely to be targeted in lawsuits, we are all at risk. The possibility that you will be sued or have fraudulent claims or frivolous lawsuits brought against your collected resources is always there.
This is why it is essential to have the guidance of an experienced asset protection attorney.
At Your Legacy Legal Care, we are prepared to use tried-and-true methods to reduce your chances of being sued under the following types of lawsuits, should they be levied against you:
-
Malpractice liability claims
-
Personal liability lawsuits brought by former business associates
-
Premises liability suits for personal injury
-
Personal injury suits for liability in vehicular accidents
-
Liability resulting from misconduct or criminal behavior
-
Liability for being a guarantor of someone else’s debts
-
Fraudulent claims that cannot be disproven
-
Claims made by a present or former partner or spouse
Your Legacy Legal Care’s Houston asset protection attorneys work hard to ensure your accumulated wealth is safe and that your future and the futures of those you love are protected.
Suppose you are helping an elderly relative protect their assets. In that case, you may also want to ensure that your loved one does not mistakenly give money to a scam artist or spend it on sweepstakes or unreasonable purchases.
In other words, we can help you preserve your family’s accumulated wealth from your relative’s declining ability to make rational decisions.
ASSET PROTECTION PLANNING
We have many ways of putting a legal asset protection plan in place. It is essential to make an appointment with a well-informed Houston asset protection lawyer at Your Legacy Legal Care to discuss these options.
We can decide on a viable strategy before your assets are directly threatened. Depending on your particular circumstances, we will help you choose the most suitable and appropriate types of asset protection.
The asset protections we offer include the following:
-
Drafting prenup and postnup agreements
-
Establishing asset protection trusts
-
Purchasing full-coverage insurance policies
-
Organizing investments, including foreign bonds and international stocks
-
Creating a corporation (LLCs are not responsible for personal debts)
-
Establishing charitable foundations
-
Retirement planning by opening retirement accounts, such as IRAs and 401(k)s
-
Buying annuities (Texas is one of few states in which annuities can provide protection)
-
Giving substantial amounts as gifts to your beneficiaries while you are alive
-
College funding by opening college savings plans
It should be noted that revocable living trusts do not protect assets because the trustor can alter or dismantle such trusts during their lifetime.
However, since irrevocable trusts do not give the trustee permanent control of the money, the assets covered by an irrevocable trust are off-limits to potential creditors or lawsuits. Irrevocable trusts have the added advantage of avoiding probate and estate taxes, which provides even more robust asset protection.
TEXAS PROVIDES EXCELLENT HOMESTEAD AND PROPERTY PROTECTIONS
For one thing, Texas does not cap the monetary value of your real property as some states do. Instead, the pioneer spirit is alive and well in the Lone Star State, where your homestead is measured by acreage—200 acres that creditors cannot touch. You can keep 200 acres unavailable to creditors, whether that land is valuated at $500 thousand or $50 million.
Even if it is a city residence at a distance from the bulk of your other property, your home is protected along with 10 acres of urban property. This is in addition to the 200 acres of rural property. There is an exception. If you are a single adult, you are limited to 100 acres of rural property. You should be aware that while these assets are protected from general creditors, they are not exempt from mortgage lenders or the IRS.
Other assets like your personal property are also protected—up to $60,000 for a family or $30,000 for a single individual.
Personal assets in Texas includes:
-
Home furnishings (including heirlooms)
-
Stored foodstuffs
-
Jewelry
-
Cars
-
Farming or ranching vehicles
-
Clothes
-
Athletic and sporting equipment
-
Specific amounts of livestock (including 12 head of cattle)
-
Two guns
HOUSTON ASSET PROTECTION LAWYERS YOU CAN TRUST
At Your Legacy Legal Care, we understand how important asset protection planning is since that means protecting your family and your future. Our estate planning attorneys believe it is a responsibility to assist you in creating an effective estate plan and will work hard to earn your trust and accomplish your goals.
As your Houston asset protection lawyer, we pride ourselves on keeping current with any changes in state or federal law, paying attention to details, and being extremely responsive to the needs of each of our clients.
Use our online contact forms to schedule a consultation with an experienced estate planning or probate attorney at Your Legacy Legal Care. You can also visit our offices in person.