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Why You Should Understand What Is Asset Protection

By Kelly Wood


In these times when the economy is still slow in growth and financial uncertainties are affecting many people, it is important to think about protecting your assets. Many people may ask the question, What is asset protection, and the answer to this query is simply safeguarding your assets from people or institutions that could take it away by means of lawsuits, taxes, penalties, repossessions.

There are many things, which could risks your assets being taken by other people such as borrowing loans and placing the assets as collaterals. If you fail to repay the loan, the creditor may seek recovery for the remaining amount by repossessing your property. This applies to many other lending facilities such as mortgages, car loans, personal loans, and secured loans.

When purchase a home premise and you reach a situation where you are not able to repay the mortgage, the lenders may file lawsuits in court to recover the house. Car accidents can occur and you are at fault in causing the accidents. When this happens, you are subjected to a legal process to pay for damages you caused on other people and properties.

Such damages can be costly and if you do not have the finances, your property may be targeted for auction to recover that amount. Life has many risks and some of these uncertainties come when you least expect. Consumers lose their properties in lawsuits in complex situations because they have not taken the frontline in safeguarding their properties.

Protecting assets means transferring them from the non-exempt status to exempt state where creditor cannot reach them. This means that even if you have committed crimes or mistakes and negligence warranting repossession of your properties, creditors and other institutions do not find it easy to do so. When you protect those assets, it implies that your creditors cannot access them and this helps you manage your wealth sustainability.

However, this arrangement is something that cannot be done so fast because it needs good planning for finances and estate. If you have ongoing legal suits, you may not protect your assets from those lawsuits. This is because even if you try to transfer the assets or change names, this may be seen as an attempt to defraud the creditors.

Your sources of income are analyzed as well as the money you will need to reserve for use when you retire. The retirement period is faced with financial challenges because this is the time when you have retired and your financial sources may be dwindling. If you have not built a strong asset base and wealth accumulation, you may find it difficult to handle your cash and property in old age.

The estate plan also addresses issues pertaining with persons who will take care of your children, spouse, and other family members when you die. When you understand what is asset protection, you are able to seek professional advice in advance. You can start preparing on how to protect the assets from creditors and other institutions, which may try to repossess them.




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