Although the jist of my inquiry has to do with during-life issues, there is also an after-death component, so I will stick it here.
My wife and I wife would like to hang on to our assets during our lifetimes, and to have what's left pass on to our heirs without going through probate.
The former, protecting our assets while we are living, is our primary concern.
Unfortunately, we have come to learn firsthand that there are those who wish to get their hands on other people's assets through frivilous lawsuits. Conventional wisdom says that can't be done if you don't do wrong, but our court system is far from perfect, and judges and those in the legal system are all human and subject to bias and error in judgement(s)
.
Prior to their deaths, both my mom and dad lost substantial assets, so we would like to learn from their lessons, as well as our own. We know, again firsthand, that disputes can arise between people, and can end up in the courtroom, where anything can happen. Anyone can condoct a fabulous-sounding tale of woe, and if they have the support of the local legal system, anything can happen.
So, we would like to not have any assets in our names, so that there is no ill-gotten gain for the ill-getters. So what if someone has a judgement against you if you have no assets.
I have searched this topic for several years but have never found an attorney to do it. Some have advised to insure against all possible liabilities, but it is the uninsurable ones that concern us most.
We have modest assets, less than $1 million, made up of bank accounts (CDs and checking), house, real estate (lots), vehicles, boat, boat dock (slips), stocks, and retirement accounts.
Of course, upon our deaths, we would like whatever is left (that we are able to keep away from the money-grubbers
) to pass to our heirs without probate.
We already have PODs on our financial accounts and beneficiary deeds on our real estate. We can do TODs on vehicles, by reregistering them. We plan on doing that as we replace the vehicles we now have. We have an LLC we run our business under, what little business we have, and we do not leave much in the LLC account.
But, since those assets are still in our names, they are not judgement proof.
My wife and I wife would like to hang on to our assets during our lifetimes, and to have what's left pass on to our heirs without going through probate.
The former, protecting our assets while we are living, is our primary concern.
Unfortunately, we have come to learn firsthand that there are those who wish to get their hands on other people's assets through frivilous lawsuits. Conventional wisdom says that can't be done if you don't do wrong, but our court system is far from perfect, and judges and those in the legal system are all human and subject to bias and error in judgement(s)
.Prior to their deaths, both my mom and dad lost substantial assets, so we would like to learn from their lessons, as well as our own. We know, again firsthand, that disputes can arise between people, and can end up in the courtroom, where anything can happen. Anyone can condoct a fabulous-sounding tale of woe, and if they have the support of the local legal system, anything can happen.
So, we would like to not have any assets in our names, so that there is no ill-gotten gain for the ill-getters. So what if someone has a judgement against you if you have no assets.
I have searched this topic for several years but have never found an attorney to do it. Some have advised to insure against all possible liabilities, but it is the uninsurable ones that concern us most.
We have modest assets, less than $1 million, made up of bank accounts (CDs and checking), house, real estate (lots), vehicles, boat, boat dock (slips), stocks, and retirement accounts.
Of course, upon our deaths, we would like whatever is left (that we are able to keep away from the money-grubbers
) to pass to our heirs without probate. We already have PODs on our financial accounts and beneficiary deeds on our real estate. We can do TODs on vehicles, by reregistering them. We plan on doing that as we replace the vehicles we now have. We have an LLC we run our business under, what little business we have, and we do not leave much in the LLC account.
But, since those assets are still in our names, they are not judgement proof.
Last edited:
