• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Armstrong, Fisch & Tutoli

Attorneys At Law

858-453-0626
  • ATTEND A FREE SEMINAR
    • In-Person Seminars
    • Online Seminars
  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • About Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
  • Estate Planning
    • Business Owners & Asset Protection
    • Incapacity & Caregiver Support
    • IRA Inheritance Planning
    • Minor Children & Young Adult Planning
    • Outdated Estate Planning Documents
    • Powers of Attorney, Healthcare & Emergency Documents
    • Remarriage & Blended Families Protection
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Wills & Trusts
  • Estate Administration
    • Trust Administration
    • Probate
  • Elder Law
    • Are You A Caregiver?
    • Coping With Alzheimer’s
    • Emergency Medicaid & Nursing Home Planning
    • Hospice Care
    • Incapacity Planning
    • Medi-Cal & Elder Law Planning
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Options for Paying for Nursing Home Care
    • Veteran’s Benefits
  • Resources
    • Estate Planning Resources
      • Estate Planning Definitions
      • Estate Planning Reports
      • Estate Planning Checkup
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Top 10 Estate and Legacy Planning Techniques
      • Incapacity Planning Definitions
    • Elder Law Resources
      • Elder Law Reports
      • Elder Law & Medi-Cal Definitions
    • Trust Administration & Probate Resources
      • Bereavement Resources
      • The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Trust
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Will
      • How to Know if You Need Extra Help With Your Grieving
    • LGBTQ Resources
    • Special Needs Resources
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Estate Planning FAQs
      • Trust Administration & Probate FAQs
      • Legacy Wealth Planning FAQs
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning FAQs
      • Incapacity Planning FAQs
    • DocuBank
  • Reviews
    • Review Us
  • Videos
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Avoid These Four Asset Protection Pitfalls

Michele A. Tutoli · March 31, 2012 ·

Compliments of Our Law Firm,
By: The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

If you have creditors, you should consider which asset protection strategies might be right for you. Asset protection is the shielding of your property from creditors, potential creditors, and others. While most people don’t realize it, the estate planning process includes a number of opportunities for you to use asset protection strategies to protect yourself and your loved ones. Here are four asset protection pitfalls you can avoid with estate planning:

  1. Ignoring Medicaid Planning. As much as we hate to admit it, we’re all aging every day. As we get older, the likelihood of a debilitating illness increases. Along with this comes an increased chance of the need for expensive long-term care. Without excellent health and long-term care insurance, an extended stay in a nursing home or other long-term care facility can wipe out your savings. One way to avoid this unpleasant prospect is to include language known as “Medicaid triggers” in your Trust. This allows your Trustee to engage in Medicaid planning on your behalf in case you become disabled.
  2. Not Considering Your Children’s Asset Protection Needs. Using a Will or Trust to make sure your property goes to your children at the time and in the manner you wish is an excellent first step, but it might not be enough. If your son inherited from you and later divorced, his ex-wife could walk away with a chunk of his inheritance. If your daughter inherited and used the money to make bad investments, your hard-earned nest egg could just disappear. When you build asset protection into Trusts for your children, you provide for them and protect their inheritances.
  3. Failing to Protect Special Needs Children. Millions of parents have children with special needs, and the death of a parent can be particularly painful for these children – both emotionally and financially. When you have a child with special needs, leaving her a direct inheritance can deprive her of much-needed government benefits. You can avoid this problem by creating a Special Needs Trust for your child. A properly-established Special Needs Trust lets you put a Trustee in charge of your child’s inheritance, preserving her benefits and allowing you to provide her with an excellent standard of living, even after you’re gone.
  4. Not Protecting Your Real Estate. If you own a farm, a ranch, a sole proprietorship, or rental property in your own name, you’re exposing yourself to unnecessary risk. If someone is injured on one of these properties, they can sue you and collect against all your assets, potentially forcing you into bankruptcy. If you own the property through a limited liability entity such as a corporation or a limited liability company (LLC), the injured party can only collect against the property owned by that entity. Your other assets are insulated from exposure, and your net worth is protected.

Asset protection is an important aspect of estate planning, not only for you but also for your children. An experienced estate planning attorney can help you determine which asset protection strategies are appropriate for your family.

Armstrong, Fisch & Tutoli, Attorneys at Law

Armstrong, Fisch & Tutoli, Attorneys at Law

WHERE WE ARE

Armstrong, Fisch & Tutoli, Attorneys at Law
6050 Santo Road, Suite 240,
San Diego, CA 92124
Phone: 858-453-0626

Securities offered through Avantax Investment Services SM, Member FINRA, SIPC. Investment Advisory Services offered through Avantax Advisory Services SM. Placing business through Avantax Insurance Services SM. CA# 0D57837

OPENING HOURS

Monday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
FridayClosed

Map

Map
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc. | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Disclosures