Hi, and welcome! I’m Rob Hamrick, the Director of Development and Client Relationships at Stuart Green Law. As always, our founding attorney, Stuart Green, is with us. Today’s topic is asset protection, and yes, we’ve discussed it before, but we have more information to share with you.
Stuart, tell us more about the practice.
Stuart Green: You’re right, Rob, we love talking about asset protection trusts. We are a boutique estate planning practice headquartered in Houston, Texas, but we have clients all over. We focus specifically on asset protection trusts, tax planning, multi-jurisdictional estate planning issues, and international planning.
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Rob Hamrick: So, can you give us a quick recap of asset protection trusts? We’ve talked about them before, but just a quick overview.
Stuart Green: Sure! Asset protection trusts are self-settled, self-benefiting, irrevocable trusts. This means that you, as the settlor, set up the trust for your own benefit and then fund it with your assets. Those assets are then protected from creditor claims such as lawsuits, malpractice suits, negligence suits, divorcing spousal claims, bankruptcy, and other legal risks.
Rob Hamrick: Who needs one of these self-settled, self-benefiting asset protection trusts?
Stuart Green: I’ve tried to create an exhaustive list of who can benefit from these, and who should be considering them as part of their planning, but I always realize there’s someone I’m leaving off. To give you an idea, it really can be anyone, but it’s especially beneficial for business owners, entrepreneurs, high-net-worth clients and families, doctors, lawyers, physicians, dentists, veterinarians, engineers, accountants, financial advisors, political activists, and social media influencers. The list goes on. These are the types of people who are subject to a heightened level of legal scrutiny compared to others. It’s the type of people who often get sued—real estate investors, real estate developers, construction company owners, and similar professions.
Rob Hamrick: And what kind of assets does one put into these asset protection trusts? Is there a certain net worth level where this really makes sense?
Stuart Green: You can put nearly any type of asset into these trusts. There are some assets that don’t need to go in because they are already exempt from creditor claims, depending on the state. Each state has different laws regarding exempt creditor property, such as your primary residence, retirement accounts, and life insurance proceeds. But other assets that aren’t exempt—like non-primary residences, farms, ranches, securities, cash, bank accounts, savings accounts, cars, boats, planes—should be considered for a self-settled asset protection trust. Basically, anything that is not already protected from creditors can go into one of these trusts.
Rob Hamrick: Such great information, as always. If you like this content, please go ahead and like this video and subscribe to our channel. In the meantime, check us out at stewartgreenlaw.com.