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Plan Ahead to Protect Your Assets

Law Office of Ronald V. De Caprio March 20, 2015

n the estate planning world, an asset protection plan is a plan that prepares an individual’s wealth and assets in such a way that they should be protected from financial challenges once the individual passes on. Through organization, planning, and plenty of foresight, New York residents can also plan to protect their assets from the financial challenges that may arise during their lifetimes. To avoid asset forfeiture, some private individuals and businesses enlist the help of legal professionals to help preserve their assets during bankruptcy and other financial legal matters.

How an asset is owned or how it is managed within a business can change whether it is subject to liquidation in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy matter. For example, if a person somehow includes his home as a business asset and that business goes bankrupt, the home may not be protected under the homestead exemption and therefore may be lost. Careful planning and classification of assets can ensure that certain assets are safe from the financial challenges of bankruptcy.

The key to protecting personal property and business assets from forfeiture is having the ability to plan ahead for the financial challenges no one wants to imagine ever happening. It is easy for individuals currently in bankruptcy to, after the fact, see the value in creating an asset protection plan. It is significantly more challenging to engage in such planning when threats of financial instability are nowhere on the horizon.

To learn more about asset forfeiture and possible ways to avoid it, businesses and private individuals can choose to work with attorneys who understand bankruptcy and other financial matters. With proper planning a person or business may avoid the devastating blow of losing possessions to creditors and others to whom money is owed. Many financial challenges can be avoided by planning ahead; an asset protection plan is a good tool for individuals who wish to protect their wealth.