This is not our first rant about online DIY legal planning. Here are some good reasons why generic legal documents are no good. This post, specifically, is about generic operating agreements for your business. If you own an LLC, you should have an operating agreement for your company.
How to protect your home equity
As an asset protection attorney I get a lot of questions about how to protect home equity. For a lot of people that is one of their most valuable assets. And its no surprise that home owners are building more equity and are concerned about keeping it safe and sound. Reading some recent news headlines you’ll see home prices are rising faster in Washington than any other state and Seattle home prices continue to rocket up and break record prices. [Read more…] about How to protect your home equity
Asset Protection Attorney Definitions: Domestic Asset Protection Trust
A Domestic Asset Protection Trust (DAPT) provides one of the highest levels of asset protection planning without going “offshore” (planning in a foreign country). The DAPT is an irrevocable trust with spendthrift provisions. In regular English, this is a legal fiction (the trust) allowing a person to shield their assets from lawsuits and creditors. Unlike most irrevocable trusts, you are not completely giving up the use or benefit of the assets in the trust. [Read more…] about Asset Protection Attorney Definitions: Domestic Asset Protection Trust
Asset Protection Attorney Definitions: Irrevocable Trust
An irrevocable trust is a part of most serious, asset protection strategies. In the business of estate planning and asset protection, there are countless categories of trusts. And they all sound very serious. When Lawyers create new categories of trusts, they often create names that are very similar, often using many of the same words, as trusts by a different name. There are a number of main features or characteristics that differentiate every trust or every category of trust, and one such characteristic is whether a trust is revocable or irrevocable. [Read more…] about Asset Protection Attorney Definitions: Irrevocable Trust
Is Your Single Member LLC Safe From Outside Creditors?
Many solo-preneurs or spouse-owned businesses (“Single Member” Limited Liability Companies or business entities) think that simply registering their business as a Limited Liability Company (LLC) protects them and their families from lawsuits. You may be surprised, however, to learn that you might not be as safe as you think unless you take some additional steps. [Read more…] about Is Your Single Member LLC Safe From Outside Creditors?
Avoiding a Due-On-Sale Clause
In a previous post, I wrote about how to protect your investment property (and some reasons why you might want to). Let’s say that you have decided that you DO want to protect your investment or rental property by getting it out of your own name and into an LLC for liability protection. Great! Well, here are some issues that you may encounter along the way AND some ideas for how you might deal with those issues.
And if you’re not sure if this is right for you, you can always ask a trusted professional for their advice.
If you own the property outright, you could simply transfer the property into your newly minted LLC.
BUT if your property is mortgaged then by transferring the property into your business entity, you could risk triggering a “due-on-sale” clause from your lender. What that means: it’s a clause commonly found in mortgages to restrict transferring ownership of the property. If your lender finds out you have transferred ownership out of your name and into an LLC, your lender could call in payment for the entire remaining balance on the note. At this point, you could pay off your mortgage or you could refinance the mortgage (which incurs fees, hassle, and you probably won’t get the same terms as before). Many people find dealing with that to be a pain.
If you are ok with refinancing, then the prospect of triggering the due-on-sale clause might not bother you too much. On the other hand, if you have a great loan that you want to keep, or don’t want to go through the hassle of refinancing, then there is a neat way to avoid triggering the due-on-sale clause.
There are exceptions to the due-on-sale clause, including the transfer of the mortgaged property into an asset protection trust. This means if you transfer ownership from your name and into a trust, your lender will not be able to demand payment of the entire note.
Having your property in trust provides asset protection and additional privacy. When real estate is not owned directly in your name, attorneys looking to sue you won’t see the property in an asset search. If attorneys don’t think you have assets to take, you can avoid a lawsuit from even happening.
Colin Ley is a Seattle asset protection attorney and the creator of the PREP Trust® and Better LLC™. He is also the co-founder of LayRoots (along with with partner in life & business – Shreya Ley)
Being successful in America makes you a target for bogus lawsuits from shameless lawyers. We created an effective, asset protection solution, so you don’t have to worry anymore, happily knowing your family’s future is protected. Get started now by scheduling a free, 30-minute call at livemorecarefree.com.
