Articles Posted in Estate Planning

By Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Asset Protection Attorney

Let’s face it.   If you have adult children, now married or considering marriage, you are a little concerned that your daughter’s husband could someday inherit your hard earned wealth. (Or maybe it’s your son’s wife.)

So, how do you protect your property, and make sure it goes to only your adult children (or your grandchildren) and not your child’s spouse?

By Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Asset Protection Attorney

Introduction

The Big Announcement:  your daughter tells you she plans to marry Hank, a great guy. She is so excited – and in love!   The last thing you want to do is discuss “practical issues”.  But, at the right time, it will be important to discuss “practical issues” to help prevent future heartbreak – and hardship.

By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq., Miami Asset Protection Attorney

Click Here: Part 3: The Asset Protection Ladder

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By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq.,  Miami Asset Protection Attorney

Click Here:  Asset Protection in Florida – Part 2 – Tenancy By Entirety

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By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq.,  Miami Asset Protection Attorney

Click here:  Part 1 – Homestead and Other Protected Assets 

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Real estate attorneys and professionals are without a doubt familiar with the FIRPTA withholding rules on U.S. property sales and rental income for foreign investors.   The technical term for such investors is “non-resident alien”; this is an investor who does not hold a green card and meets other requirements.

Taxes that are often over-looked before a foreign investor purchases property in the United States are the Federal estate and gift taxes on foreign investment.  While welcoming foreign investment, the U.S. nevertheless imposes a high estate and gift tax on the portion of the foreign individual’s gross estate – those assets controlled by the taxpayer and situated in the U.S. – that exceed $60,000.   (For U.S. citizens this exemption is now $5.25 million.)

The tax rate is 40% for all assets in the gross estate over $60,000.

 By: Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Asset Protection Attorney

The Family Limited Partnership, (the full legal name is family limited liability limited partnership (FLLLP) is designed to accomplish asset protection,  tax and non-tax goals.

First, it provides protection from claims of creditors for the partnership assets. Creditors of a partner can only obtain a charging order entitling them to a share of partnership distributions. They cannot become partners and cannot participate in the management of the partnership, unless the other partners elect them to partnership.

By Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Asset Protection Attorney

An increasingly popular off-shore asset protection jurisdiction is Nevis Island.  Nevis has enacted modern, strong trust and limited liability company (LLC ) laws exceptionally difficult to penetrate by any creditor.

For example, to attack an interest in a Nevis Island LLC, a Florida creditor has to go to a Nevis court to get a charging lien.  It is unclear whether a Nevis Court would even recognize a Florida judgment:  Officials in Nevis have told one commentator they know of no instance where a U.S. creditor has obtained a charging lien in Nevis to enforce a U.S. judgment.

By: Ruzy Behnejad

Executive Summary

In recent years, because of an increase in estate tax exemption amounts,  the legal field of estate planning has seen a significant trend towards the drafting of irrevocable Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (“SLAT”). These trusts are designed to preserve and pass on family wealth to younger family members, while also maintaining the power to “undo” the gift by allowing the spouse to force distributions of the trusts assets to the spouse. The SLAT can also have significant advantages with respect to asset protection. The SLAT provides a powerful shield protecting family assets from the grantor’s  creditors or creditors of any family member.

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