Estate Planning & Asset Protection

Estate Planning

It is advisable to have an estate plan, even if your estate is small. Estate planning allows you to direct how your property will be distributed and who will care for your minor children, helps reduce tax liabilities, court costs, and attorneys’ fees after your death, and can minimize disputes after the loss of family members. It is critical to have an estate plan if you have a minor child, own real estate, own a business, or live in California and own assets with a combined value exceeding $166,250. A sound estate plan accomplishes several critical objectives, including: 

• The timely and orderly passing of assets to intended beneficiaries
• Minimizing or avoiding estate taxes
• Naming guardians for minor children
• Avoiding probate
• Ensuring health care decisions are made according to your wishes
• Financial planning
• Business succession planning
• Disability planning
• Charitable giving
• Medicaid and Medi-Cal planning

At a minimum, an estate plan should consist of a will and power of attorney for financial matters. Most comprehensive estate plans also include a living trust and health care directive. More complex estate plans may utilize other trusts, family limited partnerships (FLPs), corporations, and limited liability companies (LLCs).

Unfortunately, most Americans do not have an estate plan or, almost as badly, have saved a few dollars by using cheap boilerplate forms or a discount company that uses the assembly-line approach to estate planning. By doing so, those persons potentially have exposed everything that they have worked so hard to accumulate over their lifetimes to unnecessary estate, income, and property taxes, expensive legal battles, and unintended inheritance outcomes. Collins Law can interpret and guide you through the complex laws that impact wills, trusts, powers of attorney, probate, property rights, and the related tax consequences. 

Collins Law offers flat-fee pricing for most estate planning services. Contact Collins Law today to create your estate plan and achieve peace of mind knowing your assets and your loved ones are taken care of.

Asset Protection

Asset protection takes advantage of laws that allow you to shield your assets from creditors and plaintiffs. When done properly, it is legal and ethical, and it is probably less expensive and less daunting than you think, especially when compared to the cost of losing what you own.

Asset protection is necessary because a creditor or plaintiff could seize virtually any asset you own. In fact, many unscrupulous persons go around looking for any opportunity to do just that. However, the right combination of insurance, liens, and transferring ownership of your assets to other entities would shield your assets from most any creditor or plaintiff while allowing you to maintain control of your assets and enjoy their economic benefits. 

Anyone can buy insurance, take out a loan (sometimes called an “equity strip”), or have a trust, corporation, LLC, or partnership set up. However, few know when or how to use each technique. Sadly, even fewer insert the proper technical clauses, thus rendering the asset protection plan almost useless in shielding the assets from predators. The asset protection plans created by Collins Law Corporation utilize proven, legal strategies implemented through well-drafted documents.

Contact Collins Law today to implement your asset protection plan.