Best Asset Protection Course

[Karma Senge]

Hey all, the other day at the local reia (CFRI) they had Attorney Lee Phillips talking about asset protection. His talk was ok (a LOT of "my course is the best" type of stuff), and left me wondering which courses you all recommend as some of the best asset protection courses available?

[Lynn McGeein]

No course info, but I learned a lot from the library, and after you scan through 20 or so different books on the subject, you definitely learn the major themes running through them, and usually pick up a great tip or two from each one. Sort of a build-your-own-course concept.

[Jay Hinrichs]

I would venture to guess 95% of those on wanting to know about asset protection do not need it as they have no assets to protect or they have limited assets.

When you reach 7 figures of liquidity then you might think about SPENDING MONEY PROTECTING YOUR MONEY.  In my opoinon this asset protection for newbies is no better than the gurus selling the how to do it class's..

the reality is if you do not have substantial assets that are liquid or have very discernible equity you have little or no risk of losing them.. The only one that is going to sue you is someone who thinks they can win big.. you own a few rental houses no risk.. you have a million in the bank you have risk.. And those smart enough to have assest worth protecting know they need umbrella policies that they pay for each year... To pay someone for so called asset protection in my mind is Ludacris. LLC is a few hundred and umbrella policy is 300 to 500 a year for millions in protection

Like all these folks say don't spend money on Gurus.. same goes here don't spend a bunch of dough on asset protection ..... its for the very paranoid folks 

[Karma Senge]

Anyone that doesn't think about asset protection, even right up front, is just asking for trouble IMHO. 

"The only one that is going to sue you is someone who thinks they can win big"

Is that a joke? You do know we live in America right? One of my friends was in NY once walking down the street and due to the huge amount of people he accidentally stepped on a mans shoe. The guy found out who he was a sued him because my friend and "ruined" his new shoes. And Won!

People will sue you for anything.

Oh and I do have assets to protect. And telling someone not to learn a little bit about protecting their assets is like telling a soldier going in to war not to worry about how to fire a rifle. Everyone has something to protect. And they should as well.

PS: @Joshua Dorkin , is there no ability to underline with this WYSIWYG editor?

[Lynn McGeein]

Karma, I agree that you should learn as much as you can about asset protection right up front, not just for lawsuits or if you have millions in liquid assets, but having an end goal and knowing the proper steps to take to reach it without major setbacks is half the battle. We don't have millions in liquid assets yet, but we do have property in different states, have lost our umbrella due to unforeseen circumstances (too many car accidents, even though none were our fault -- drunk driver totaled my son's car, policeman hit my daughter's rear end, a driver hit our car in a parking lot and the car dealer's employee during an oil change drove a new car into 4 parked ones, ours being one of them, end of umbrella plan). So knowing the alternatives, how to insure our children will not have probate issues in 4 states, etc., to me is all asset protection, not just someone possibly suing me.

[Robert Davidson]

There are various levels of asset protection. Insurance mostly provides payment of legal expenses to defend you. If there is anything left, then It would pay damages only up policy limits. You're responsible for the rest. Plus, your insurance will then be non-renewed. LLC's are more tricky than many assume. In some states (California being one) if you have a single member LLC (husband and wife are considered single member) courts have held that the LLC protection can be pierced to get to your personal assets. Most important, don't believe that just because you don't have many assets now, that you are judgment proof. If someone sues and gets a judgment against you, that stays in place (recorded in the county records) for a long time, especially if the plaintiff renews the judgment every 10 years. Any asset you acquire in the future can be levied against plus if you or your spouse have a job, the wages can be garnished. The above isn't my opinion; it's what my attorney taught me. This is one area that spending money on a good attorney (personal, real estate, or trust) is well worth it. Ask you CPA for a recommendation (you do have a CPA don't you.) There are ways to minimize the chance of lawsuits. There is no way to totally prevent a lawsuit.

[Jay Hinrichs]

@Karma Senge 

My mistake my original post did not come out the way I intended it... My point was there are basic steps to asset protection that are really quite simple... LLC.. Corp. and Insurance. both for the property and an umbrella.. I am not saying no one should have these things I certainly do.

My point was if someone is just starting out in the bizz they do not need to pay thousands of dollars for course's that will talk about all sorts of different strategies, Land Trusts. off shore entities  etc etc.

A RE attorney  in your state or state were your working for a few billable hours will give you all the info that you would need to get started.

And I guess I have been very fortunate I have done quite a bit of RE over the last 40 years and other than business litigation IE  stuff that is covered by E and O or minor partners taking a shot at us.. Never have had any issues with unknown parties.

And so to sum this up.. Yes asset protection is a must in the bizz.. Do it at the level you need to. Start with an LLC and an umbrella policy ( like 99%) of people do.. that cost you 500 bucks or so for the first year then grow into your asset protection strategies as your assets grow with you business.

The reality of getting judgments especially if they are foreign judgments ( other states than were you live and work) recorded perfected and collecting on is pretty difficult for a plaintiff. And cost a lot of money.

I had quite a few from my borrowers that walked from me back in 08 and 08.. I went through the dual action foreclosure process got a judgment against their LLC and sometimes personally if I had a PG... but try to collect it is another matter.

As was mentioned they are good for 10 years and can be renewed by just refilling. and there are many people that learn this the hard way that have let judgments be taken against themselves moved and forgot about them... I have a buddy that owns a company that buys these judgments ( mainly credit card). they buy them for 5 cents on the dollar wait until 9th year 11th month and by then the creditor has long forgotten about protecting the assets and they are able to settle these and make pretty nice returns.. on a % basis.. So they buy a 10k judgment for 50 bucks.. and settle for 1000. they buy the judgments in the 9th year.  Its debt collecting work and all those rules apply as well.

[Engelo Rumora]

Originally posted by @Karma Senge:

Hey all, the other day at the local reia (CFRI) they had Attorney Lee Phillips talking about asset protection. His talk was ok (a LOT of "my course is the best" type of stuff), and left me wondering which courses you all recommend as some of the best asset protection courses available?

 Hi Karma,

We went to Cleveland yesterday and caught up with an attorney who we have been building a relationship with for over 18 months now.

He happily spent 1+ hrs with us and we discussed the exact same topic that you are interested in. Asset and wealth protection.

He pretty much explained everything we didn't know after we conducted our own research.

I don't believe you need to spend any money on a course. Find the right people that will happily assist and not look down at their Omega Seamaster when they are meeting with you.

Because Will was genuine and honest for the last 18 months we will be doing quite a lot of business with him that is not just asset protection related.

Thanks and have a great day.

[Chris D.]

If you're interested in this topic, listen to BP Podcast #109 titled You Will Get Sued. Austin, TX attorney Scott Smith explains why umbrella policies will not offer complete protection. He makes a convincing argument to delve into this subject in the beginning of an investment career. We never know where we'll end up…how many properties or how much net work. Planninf from the beginning appears to be a wise move. It is Great listen!