How can I protect my assets from a future lawsuit?

Question

I was told of a living trust or a homestead. HELP.
Thank you

Answer 1

Look into a revocable trust.

A revocable trust is a document (the “trust agreement”) created by you to manage your assets during your lifetime and distribute the remaining assets after your death. The person who creates a trust is called the “grantor” or “settlor.” The person responsible for the management of the trust assets is the “trustee.” You can serve as trustee, or you may appoint another person, bank or trust company to serve as your trustee. The trust is “revocable” since you may modify or terminate the trust during your lifetime, as long as you are not incapacitated.

During your lifetime the trustee invests and manages the trust property. Most trust agreements allow the grantor to withdraw money or assets from the trust at any time, and in any amount. If you become incapacitated, the trustee is authorized to continue to manage your trust assets, pay your bills, and make investment decisions. This may avoid the need for a court-appointed guardian of your property. This is one of the advantages of a revocable trust.

Upon your death, the trustee (or your successor if you were the initial trustee) is responsible for paying all claims and taxes, and then distributing the assets to your beneficiaries as described in the trust agreement. The trustee’s responsibilities at your death are discussed below.

Your assets, such as bank accounts, real estate and investments, must be formally transferred to the trust before your death to get the maximum benefit from the trust. This process is called “funding” the trust and requires changing the ownership of the assets to the trust. Assets that are not properly transferred to the trust may be subject to probate. However, certain assets should not be transferred to a trust because income tax problems may result. You should consult with your attorney, tax advisor and investment advisor to determine if your assets are appropriate for trust ownership.

Answer 2

you want to get an outstanding e book on making an investment. in the period in-between, listed right here are some basic concepts to imagine about: a million. do not chase previous returns. those who purchase money because they have done nicely interior the previous are doing precisely that. 2. do not marketplace time. marketplace timing is procuring consistent inclusive of your (or your e-newsletter, or your television, or neighbor's) wager about what is going to ensue interior the destiny. inspite of if someone knows something, you've already neglected the boat. the price already reflects what you purely stumbled on out. 3. Use index money. through the years, index money outperform actively managed money, commonly because they don't have those extreme cost ratios. some actively managed money do beat their index, although those that do often do not do so continually. So why gamble? Use index money. in case you want to apply some actively managed money, ensure that the prices are very low. forefront has some good ones. 4. Diversify. do not placed all of your eggs in a unmarried basket. personal a mixture of bonds, kin equities (large, small and mid cap money), a international fund and perchance a REIT (authentic belongings funding trust) and rising marketplace fund. 4 to 6 money is all you want. 5. evaluate taxes. Use the least tax powerful money on your tax-deferred money owed and the most tax powerful money on your taxable money owed.

Answer 3

MYTH #5: "LIVING TRUSTS WILL PROTECT MY ASSETS"

Living trusts will protect your assets from probate, but they do virtually NOTHING to protect your assets from lawsuits. Other types of trusts may protect assets from lawsuits, such as charitable remainder trusts, irrevocable trusts, and various offshore trusts. But traditional living trusts (aka, revocable trusts), in which most professionals mistakenly place their hope, do not protect assets.

google search came up with this, though I have no idea if it's good or not.
http://www.offshorepress.com/protection/
http://www.assetprotectioncorp.com/whatsnew.html