12 Jul How to Keep Your Financial Footprint “Off the Radar”
It is absolutely critical to understand this rule of Asset Protection: If they can’t see you, they can’t sue you.
Privacy is the cornerstone of lawsuit prevention…and lawsuit prevention is the nucleus of Asset Protection.
You can stop legal actions before they ever begin by being financially invisible – the 3rd Pillar of Private Banking Strategies – Financial Privacy.
A critical step in avoiding personal liability and protecting your hard-earned assets is to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, your personal financial footprint… in your business transactions, in your real estate investments or home ownership; and in all of your financial dealings whenever possible.
Non-cash assets must be protected in your private fortress – just like your cash.
How is that possible?
By becoming as small as possible in the public domain when it comes to how successful you appear to others, especially those who may be looking for indicators of your wealth.
As a plaintiff’s attorney analyzes whether a defendant is a worthy target (victim) or not, they will certainly perform an “asset investigation.”
That asset investigation will include a review of the public records, including real estate chain of title records, company filings with government entities and many more things which would give the plaintiff’s attorney critical information that has been volunteered by the victim unknowingly.
The plaintiff’s attorney can “connect the dots” and determine what an individual owns or has an interest in, which in turn, motivates the plaintiff’s attorney to pursue them as their next victim.
But when that same plaintiff’s attorney sees a prospective victim has assets with no equity, over-leveraged, and encumbered beyond fair market value…then there is nothing to go after…poof! they will most likely choose another victim and go away.
Why would a plaintiff file and pursue an expensive lawsuit to wind up with an uncollectable judgment? …They won’t.
And a contingency fee lawyer will not invest his time, energy, and money into a case that he can’t collect on. A lawsuit is a financial investment for which an ROI is expected. No ROI, no lawsuit. A target individual or company that is apparently judgment-proof will make it look dead and worthless to a plaintiff’s attorney.
This technique is called “equity stripping” – the art and science of making a business or individual appear to be worth much less than they are. That perception will protect you from lawsuits. And perception is everything when it comes to Asset Protection.
This structure minimizes liability, maximizes anonymity, makes lawsuits difficult if not impossible for contingency attorneys to initiate, and insulates assets from judgment and attachment.
Our Asset Protection planning has protected our clients from tens of millions of dollars in claims. And even for those who have never had it tested in litigation, they have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and attorney’s fees that they never incur…