The Asset Protection Law Center

“How to Avoid Common Pitfalls When Buying Life Insurance” MDNetGuide January 2008 - Life insurance can be a key element of an effective estate tax strategy. However, when devising estate plans with clients we often find their current policies accomplish little or nothing in terms of future tax savings. It is not uncommon to find that the actual benefits…Read Article

“When is it Too Late for Asset Protection?” MDNetGuide November 2007 - One of life’s ironies is that the worst time for asset protection planning is when you really feel like you need it the most. Although the law favors and encourages asset protection in most circumstances, there comes a point in financial transactions and legal proceedings when it is no longer permitted…Read Article

"Why Hedge Funds Are a Losing Bet" MDNetGuide September 2007 Are hedge funds a smart choice for today’s investor? Hedge funds have certainly been in the news a lot lately. You’ve no doubt heard about the woes of the subprime market, but no one knows at this point how wide and how deep this iceberg will turn out to be…Read Article

“Asset Protection for Patients” MDNetGuide July 2007 In a new and ironic twist, a growing number of individuals are now legally protecting themselves from their doctors. The idea may be surprising, but with rapidly disappearing health coverage, medical expenses are now…Read Article

“The New Tort Reform: Should Asset Protection Be Illegal?” MDNetGuide May 2007 It appears certain now that advocates of tort reform, seeking to limit lawsuits and cap negligence awards, have lost the battle in Congress and no substantive improvements appear anywhere on the political horizon…Read Article

"Coping With the New Estate Tax" MDNetGuide March 2007 The estate tax looks like it’s here to stay, so for most, careful planning to minimize the impact should be considered. The political shift in Congress has likely doomed any hope for complete… Read Article

“Protecting Against Real Estate Losses” MDNetGuide November 2006 The types of issues raised by my clients are often a reliable indicator of major changes in the economy. What we are hearing at this point is that the decline in property values is beginning to have a serious impact… Read Article

“How to Find a Tax Shelter” MDNetGuide September 2006 Solid tax planning is almost always a worthwhile goal. While other business expenses, such as payroll, advertising and software, are intended to produce greater income and assets, money spent on taxes return zero economic benefit…. Read Article

“Valuing Your Medical Practice - How to Avoid Dangerous Traps and Pitfalls” MDNetGuide July 2006 In the last issue of MDNet Guide I discussed some of the issues associated with determining the amount of spousal support which might be awarded in a divorce. Now let’s look at how a medical practice is valued… Read Article

“Unique Issues for Physicians in Marital Dissolutions” MDNetGuide May 2006 A few weeks ago I was researching some divorce issues for a physician client. I was looking at the financial impact of various settlement alternatives… Read Article

“Pros and Cons of Professional Corporations: What’s Best for Your Practice” MDNetGuide March 2006 One of my clients recently asked about the best way to conduct his medical practice. For a number of years he was in solo practice but was now considering joining with another physician. He wanted to know how to organize his practice… Read Article

“Asset Protection and the New Bankruptcy Act: Retirement Plans and Asset Protection Trusts” MDNetGuide January 2006 The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (the “Act”), which became effective in October 2005, affects the treatment of retirement plans and certain types of trusts used as part of many asset protection strategies… Read Article

“Protecting Your Assets Under the New Bankruptcy Act” MDNetGuide November 2005 Strategies for protecting homes and savings from lawsuit risks have been affected by sweeping changes in The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. For physicians concerned with the issue of minimizing legal exposure, some… Read Article

“Lawsuit Protection for Rental Real Estate” MDNetGuide September 2005 Ownership of rental properties has become a popular investment strategy during the real estate boom of the last ten years. More than ever, our client’s holdings consist of apartments, office buildings, shopping centers, and single-family houses for rent… Read Article

“Protecting Your Home From Lawsuit Risk” MDNetGuide May 2005 The family home represents most people’s largest source of wealth and personal savings. In many parts of the country, dramatic increases in housing prices have made real estate the new investment of choice over the stock market and other traditional vehicles… Read Article

“Trusts for Estate Planning and Asset Protection: A Lawyer’s Inside View” MDNetGuide March 2005 One of the most important tools for both business and personal planning is the legal arrangement known as a trust. Although many forms of trusts, such as Living Trusts and Life Insurance Trusts, have been popular for many years and are fairly common in most estate plans, many people do not understand how their trusts work or the benefits trusts can provide… Read Article

“Self Insurance: Does It Ever Make Sense?” MDNetGuide January 2005 A pressing question physicians must answer these days is what to do about the cost of malpractice insurance premiums. For many physicians squeezed by Medicare and HMO cost cutting, malpractice costs are devouring an ever larger share of their income. Sometimes the premiums are just too expensive to afford or insurance might be unavailable at any price… Read Article

“Is Offshore the Right Asset Protection Choice?” MDNetGuide November 2004 One of the first things, most clients ask when we begin mapping out an asset protection plan is whether they should “go offshore”. In this context, they’re not referring to a resort in the Caribbean; they want to know whether an offshore entity or perhaps even an overseas account would be an appropriate element to add to their strategy… Read Article

“Avoid Estate Taxes With Family Limited Partnerships” MDNetGuide September 2004 In the March 2004 issue of MD Net Guide, I broadly and briefly described some of the popular legal strategies for asset protection. This article will focus more closely on one specific strategy, known as the Family Limited Partnership (FLP)… Read Article

“Asset Protection and Financial Privacy” MDNetGuide May 2004 Advances in computer and Internet technology make is easier than ever for someone to uncover the sensitive details of your personal and financial life. Much of the information that you would not want to share with others is now available and accessible through the Web… Read Article

“Asset Protection Strategies” MDNetGuide March 2004 Fear of lawsuits and the risk of personal financial loss is a predominant force shaping the practice of medicine today. In the previous article in this series on asset protection, we discussed the fact that as a physician, you have a particular vulnerability to lawsuit exposure. Most other business owners are permitted to arrange their business activities in a structure that enables them to legally shield themselves from personal liability… Read Article

“Analyzing Risk and Shielding Personal Wealth” MDNetGuide January 2004 Because much has now been written on the “litigation explosion” and so many professionals and business owners have directly experienced its impact, asset-protection planning is becoming as common as wills and estate planning… Read Article

“Make Sense of Asset Protection Planning” Physicians Money Digest January 2004 Because many physicians have witnessed the impact of the litigation explosion, there is a widespread perception that professionals with accumulated savings are easy targets for frivolous lawsuit claims. The outcome of every case appears random, with unpredictable jury verdicts and astronomical damage awards… Read Article