Asset Protection Consultants
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Basically, asset protection consultants help other people conceal their property from potential litigation and creditors through a variety of techniques. Caveat: asset protection is a serious legal issue. And, there is a fine line between legitimate shielding and fraudulent actions. In fact, some laws permit protection of assets to protect individuals and businesses from devastating loss. Therefore, since property shielding is a legal issue, an attorney or financial expert should handle the arrangements, not asset protection consultants. A person often pays several thousand dollars to learn asset protection techniques. Many training programs have sprung up in the past few years. Anybody looking into one of these expensive courses would do well to check accreditation. Many training programs lure an aspiring APC, as the consultants are often called, with promises of high income and flexible schedules. Program directors claim that consultants can make a lot of money, work as their own boss and work when they choose. Amazingly, it's the same theme heard time and time again: get a lot of money with little work. It rarely works out that way and it's against Biblical principles. Unless the APC is already an attorney or financial expert, he or she is not a professional or legal expert.
Some programs protray asset protection consultants as fighters against frivolous lawsuits filed by attorneys who are simply working to survive. In fact, potential litigation is the entire premise of this type of consulting business. Arguably, America is the most litigious society in the world with the most practicing attorneys in the world. As a result, a person practicing a profession or running a business in the United States stands a greater chance of being sued. Therefore, some people believe that properly trained asset protection consultants can help others protect what they have. It works on the theory that if a person gives their property away, then it isn't there to be taken away in a lawsuit or judgment. However, these practices seldom work in court. And consultants generally don't make the money they are lead to believe is possible. Ironically, when a property shielding plan fails or goes awry, an APC cannot practice law and an attorney will be needed to straighten the mess out. For the most part, APCs are not reputable in the eyes of many judges, lawyers, and juries. In fact, the entire consultant practice is afflicted by deception and what some people in the legal profession call sleaze. "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers." (2 Timothy 3:13-14) Christians wishing to protect their assets should think long and hard before employing an APC.
A closer look at a few terms used by asset protection consultants should raise some red flags. Terms such as conceal, hide, offshore trust, and place out of reach of creditors are often used. An online keyword search indicates that the federal government has successfully sued programs that train asset consultants for fraudulent practices. In a legal application of the practice, asset protection is sometimes referred to as debtor-creditor law. It is a set of legal techniques incorporating statutory and common law designed to protect individuals and businesses against catastrophic losses that occur from unexpected hazards such as business failures, lawsuits, and civil money judgments. Asset protection strategies are designed based on many factors. An attorney or financial expert, not asset protection consultants, should be involved in the management of an asset protection plan. There are many ways to design a plan, but some strategies include insurance, titling, equity stripping, and family limited partnerships.
Insurance is straight forward. Basically, it is a form of risk management primarily used as a buffer against possible losses. In its simplest sense, insurance is defined as the transfer of risk from one entity to another. Premiums are paid to do this. Car or homeowners insurance are prime examples. Although they are considered significant investments for most people, protecting a car or home is insuring that a small loss won't become a huge, catastrophic loss. Titling is a legal term in which a person may own either a legal interest or an equitable interest in a piece of property. The rights in property may be separated and held by different parties. Equity stripping is a real estate practice. Basically, investors acquire property from foreclosed homeowners in exchange for allowing the homeowner to continue living in the house as a tenant. Family limited partnerships are designed to move wealth from one generation to another. Generally speaking, they are holding companies. All of these techniques are designed to place assets beyond the reach of creditors.
Beware when working with asset protection consultants because there is a fine line between asset protection and fraudulent transfers of property. Obviously, federal and state law prohibits fraudulent transfers. Even if the transfer of assets is legally done, it might still have legal implications and is always an issue of morality. Creditors that have a legal right to the concealed property can suffer. An online search reveals that asset protection consultants often use what's referred to as the offshore trust market. Unfortunately, according to several online legal sites, there are no clear lines between what is permissible and what is not. However, a fraudulent transfer occurs when property is transferred in an effort to stop a legitimate creditor from taking the assets. A transfer of assets may be considered fraudulent, if a person knows the existence, or potential existence, of a legitimate creditor. Such a transfer could be undone. Individuals found guilty of fraudulent transfers could be charged with a crime and fined, ordered to pay restitution, receive probation, or imprisoned. Asset protection is a legal issue and is best left in the hands of a legal or financial expert.
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