Asset Protection and Planning

It has been said that those at the most risk in our litigious age are those with something worth taking.

This statement expresses the idea that whether it is a matter of lawsuits or demands from government agencies, those that have substantial assets are more likely to encounter some risk of claims against their property.

This statement, however, is too fatalistic for us to agree with entirely. Experience teaches that those who are equipped with planning, structuring, and effective advocates are able to manage risks and reduce exposure. While it is a vindication to win at trial—it is all the more satisfying to witness the instances where effective preparation avoids certain claims all together.

Our role is to identify strategies for anticipating risks to assets, to prepare in advance for meeting or avoiding these risks, then when assets are threatened, we exert the features of the asset protection planning to provide maximum protection.

What asset protection is not
Some promoters of cookie-cutter products would promise total impunity—for a price. Asset protection tools are not the mythical ring of Gyges, which, in Plato’s retelling, made its venal master untouchable. Planning is an invaluable tool for the wise; it cannot be a shield for the unscrupulous.

Adding to what you already have
The unique service the asset protection team of Erickson & Whitaker provides is adapting the various tools to clients’ circumstances. Many people who come to us already have some estate planning and our clients are already successfully forming and managing business entities. All of our clients have above-average ability to make financial decisions—this being necessary for them to generate above-average wealth. Our clients rely on us to adapt existing mechanisms, supplementing them where called-for, and weaving them into a cohesive asset-protection plan that will withstand the turbulence of time.