One of the most valuable assets the average person today will own is their primary home. In order to make yourself less likely to be a target for frivolous lawsuits and to encourage settlements if you are sued, you should consider different Asset Protection strategies to protect your primary home. Bear in mind, there are often tax implications in doing so, so it’s imperative to discuss your options and the consequences with an experienced attorney. Certain exceptions do exist, such as if your primary home is in Florida, homestead protection affords you a great deal of protection. Whether your state law provides protection for your primary home or not, it’s important to fully consider which strategies make the most sense for you. If you are limited in options regarding protecting your primary home, it’s imperative to assure that all of your other assets are fully protected. Assets that our clients often overlook are vacation homes and rental properties. As large sources of income and liability, there are a numerous reasons why it is critical to consider protecting your other pieces of real estate as well.
Value
Real estate, especially right now with how competitive the housing market is, holds a lot of value and often catches the eyes of greedy creditors. If your real estate is unprotected, creditors may be motivated to capitalize on the value of that assets if you own them personally. Additionally, owning multiple pieces of real estate is essentially a large blinking light alerting them of your wealth and that you likely have other assets that are unprotected. The less assets that are owned in your name, the less likely a creditor is going to be motivated to seek you out as a prime candidate to sue. However, if you are sued and your main assets are protected, it will incentivize the person suing you or your creditor to settle because of their uphill battle to succeed and the litigation costs that will continue to certainly ensue.
Rental Properties and Vacation Homes Can Lead to Ample Accidents and Lawsuits
Owning a property that is being used and controlled by others can lead to a lot of risk and danger that ultimately become the responsibility of the owner. Therefore, even if you have a rental property that isn’t very valuable, the risk a rental property or vacation home presents makes it worth protecting. All it takes is someone injuring themselves on your rental property and you’re potentially looking at a massive lawsuit. Renting out a building for a business also has its risks. If you rent out a space in a building to a company that makes wooden pellets for fireplaces and a massive fire occurs or a worker injures themselves because of a building defect. What also makes rental properties and vacation homes particularly dangerous from a lawsuit perspective are the equipment and “toys” that are housed there. While protecting yourself from things like jet skis, equipment for businesses, and other dangerous items is a conversation for another day, these items being on the premises create ample amount of risk for property owners.
It is crucial to us as Asset Protection attorneys to help our clients identify assets that a large percentage of hardworking adults have that come with significant value and risk. As the number of lawsuits per year have never continued to increase, it is important to think about the ways to protect your wealth. At The Presser Law Firm, P.A., we often tell our clients to “hope for the best but plan for the worst.” Putting your rental properties and vacation homes into LLCs as part of your overall asset protection entity structure will go a long way toward preventing frivolous lawsuits and making sure a potential incident at a property will not ruin everything you have worked so hard for.
The Presser Law Firm, P.A. can integrate an Asset Protection Plan with your existing Entities and Estate Plan or work with you to create a new one. Contact us today for a complimentary preliminary consultation regarding your Asset Protection options.
The Presser Law Firm P.A.
6199 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton FL 33487
(800) 999-9992 or e-mail info@assetprotectionattorneys.com
