Boca Raton Asset Protection Lawyer
You spend your life going to work, building your savings, and perhaps even growing a business. At the same time, you may have established a home and provided your family with a good quality of life. Without proper planning, the wealth you accumulated during your lifetime could vanish faster than you think. Creditors, lawsuits, taxes, divorce, and long-term injury, illness, or disability can all chip away at the assets for which you have worked so hard.
Don’t wait until a time of crisis to start planning for what will happen to your wealth. Below, our Boca Raton asset protection lawyer explains how you can protect what is most important to you.
Special Needs Trust
You might have children with special needs who either have to currently rely on government assistance, or you believe will need these programs in the future. Government programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid are needs-based programs. If you simply leave your child with certain assets or funds using a Will, that property could be counted as part of these programs and actually interfere with your child’s chances of obtaining the government benefits they need. By creating a special needs trust, you can fund the assets into the trust so your child can still access them when needed while continuing to receive the benefits they need.
Premarital Agreements
Premarital agreements are an important tool to keep certain property separate from marital assets in the event of a divorce. Also known as prenups, these documents can also determine the division of marital property, as well as whether alimony will be paid. If you have a child from a previous relationship, a premarital agreement can also protect them without disadvantaging your spouse.
A premarital or postnuptial agreement can also outline the terms of a will and determine whether either spouse can take an elective share under the probate law in Florida. Without this document, it becomes very challenging to keep separate property separate.
Family Limited Partnerships
If you own a family business or other assets that you want to make sure remain in the family, a family limited partnership (FLP) is an effective and popular tool for the transfer of ownership. Senior members of the family can act as general partners while younger family members can act as limited partners. Setting up an FLP allows members of the same family to jointly own important assets while allowing them to transfer to other individuals at the right time and avoid restrictive capital gains taxes.
Our Asset Protection Lawyer in Boca Raton Can Inform You of Your Legal Options
Your assets are important to you, and you want to make sure they are protected for your family. At SAMUELS WOOD PLLC, our Boca Raton asset protection lawyer can help you determine the best legal avenue for you that will protect what is important to you and leave a lasting legacy for your family. Call us now at 561-864-3371 or reach out to us online to schedule a consultation and learn more.
