Many wealthy individuals in Riverside, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Los Angeles Counties have concerns about protecting and preserving assets for themselves and their children and grandchildren. It is well established in estate planning that one can dispose of his or her assets as one desires. Most people, however, give their children and grandchildren an outright inheritance, which provides no asset protection for their loved ones. Southern California estate planning and asset protection lawyer, Dennis Sandoval, has developed several estate planning strategies that can protect inheritances from divorcing spouses or creditors. His clients do not leave inheritance assets to a surviving spouse, child, grandchild or other beneficiary, where the assets may be subject to seizure by the beneficiary’s creditors, a bankruptcy trustee, the IRS or an ex-spouse. Instead, the law firm’s clients leave the inheritances in a protected trust for the beneficiary.
Protecting Deceased Spouse Assets from Remarriage of Surviving Spouses
Many couples, especially those with blended families (children from more than one marriage) are concerned that a surviving spouse may remarry after death of the first spouse. If the surviving spouse remarries, the deceased spouse’s assets might end with the new spouse and/or his or her children and not with the deceased spouse’s intended beneficiaries. Most estate planning attorneys offer no solutions to this dilemma. But this is not the case with attorney Dennis Sandoval. For those clients who share this concern, the attorneys at our law firm have developed several strategies to assure that the assets of deceased spouse are protected while providing the surviving spouse access to the income and principal if needed to maintain his or her lifestyle. Call our office at 951-888-1460 if you would like more information on this estates planning strategy or if you would like to schedule a consultation at one of our many Southern California law office locations.
Access Trust™
Over fifty percent of all marriages end up in divorce. The vast majority of estate planning clients are very concerned that an inheritance left to a child or grandchild will end up with the beneficiary’s ex-spouse. Mr. Sandoval developed the Access Trust™ as a strategy to protect against this eventuality. The Access Trust™ allows the beneficiary to “access” the trust income and principal and control how the trust assets are invested while keeping the trust assets segregated as the beneficiary’s separate property. Giving your beneficiary his or her inheritance in an Access Trust™ can reduce or eliminate the need for a prenuptial agreement should the beneficiary later marry and assure that trust assets remain within your bloodline and not in the possession of an ex-spouse. The Access Trust™ for children and grandchildren is the most popular asset protection strategy chosen by our estate planning law firm’s clients.
Sentry Trust™
While the Access Trust™ provides divorce protection for the beneficiary, it offers no protection from judgment creditors, a bankruptcy trustee, or the IRS or other taxing authorities. To get this level of protection, our Riverside estate planning firm offers the option of a Sentry Trust™. The Sentry Trust™ can be invested to benefit a child or other beneficiary with creditor problems without the fear that the trust principal will be subject to attachment by the creditor. The Sentry Trust™ is popular with our estate planning clients who desire asset protection for children in occupations with a high risk for being sued for malpractice (such as doctors, surgeons, attorneys, real estate developers, architects and small business owners). It is also used by clients with children with financial problems (large debt, past due spousal support, potential bankruptcy, or trouble with the IRS and other taxing authorities). Finally, the Sentry Trust™ can also be used by estate planning clients to rein in beneficiaries who cannot control their spending habits or with an uncontrollable addiction. Our Riverside estate planning law firm can also design a Sentry Trust™ to encourage beneficiaries to behave in a certain manner, such as providing a monetary incentive to graduate from college or assisting with the down payment for the purchase of a first residence.
Asset Protection for Professionals, Business Owners, and Real Estate Investors
Doctors, dentists, lawyers, architects, and other professionals, and entrepreneurs such as business owners and real estate developers are at high risk of being sued for negligence or malpractice. Business owners and real investors are often the targets of lawsuits relating to breach of contract or injuries suffered on the job or while on the owner’s property. There are many asset protection planning strategies available to protect assets, some relatively easy and simple to implement and others much more complicated and costly – these asset protection strategies can be put in place before being sued to protect the assets of professionals, business owners, and real estate investors. These estate planning strategies range from incorporation and creation of Limited Liability Companies, family limited partnerships, and other business entities to the factoring of business receivables. Asset protection can also be achieved through the use of qualified personal residence trusts, domestic asset protection trusts, foreign asset protection trusts and other irrevocable trust options. Assets can be sold to an Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust to achieve estate tax savings and asset protection for future generations. If you are a professional, business owner, or real estate investor interested in learning more about these planning strategies, call our Riverside office to schedule a consultation.
Coordination of Asset Protection Planning With Estate Planning
The lawyers at our law firm specialize in merging the asset protection strategies described above and many more with the design and implementation of a comprehensive estate plan designed to minimize income and estate taxes. Concentration on just asset protection issues or just estate planning issues will leave serious gaps in the client’s overall financial and estate plan. In creating an asset protection plan, our estate planning land tax law firm reviews all the components of an overall financial plan – projected cash flows, future growth of assets, planning for retirement, reduction of income and estate taxes and the maximization of transferring wealth to future generations, or sometimes, to its non-family employees. Our Riverside law firm has the knowledge to look at your financial puzzle pieces and assemble them in the best manner possible to protect your wealth for now and for future generations.
Contact Our Asset Protection Attorneys Today
Your estate plan should do more than simply determine how your estate assets are to be distributed at the end of your life. A well-thought-out and properly implemented estate plan should also protect those assets from the numerous and varied threats that could diminish their value. Our Certified Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law Specialists are committed to helping you create an estate plan that includes a strong asset protection component to keep your wealth safe both during your lifetime and after you are gone.
Visit One of Our Southern California Locations
With office locations throughout Southern California, Sandoval Legacy Group, a Division of Holstrom, Block & Parke, offers representation for Estate Planning, Special Needs Planning, Trust Administration, Probate, and Conservatorships in Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, San Diego, and Los Angeles County.
To learn more about asset protection planning, contact us online or call our office at 951-888-1460.
