You’ve worked hard for what you’ve earned throughout life. Unfortunately, there are countless pitfalls that can eat away at your savings. In some cases, people have faced financial ruin due to illness, litigation, failed business ventures, and more. It’s even possible to lose assets after dying due to probate and estate taxes. Fortunately, an asset protection lawyer in Tampa can help you minimize such losses.
At Decker Legacy Law, our legal team understands how important it is to protect assets. That’s why we’ve dedicated ourselves to serving Florida residents who want to safeguard their personal and financial futures. There are various strategies for protecting assets, and what works best for one person may not be right for another. Contact our law firm today to speak with Tampa asset protection attorneys who can guide you in the right direction.
How Important Is Asset Protection Planning?
Many people forego asset protection planning because they don’t understand the potential benefits. In many cases, they eventually do recognize these benefits — but only after it’s too late. For example, envision someone who has saved their whole life and built a nice nest egg for retirement. When they turn 65, they’re ready to retire and apply for Medicaid benefits. In many instances, though, they discover their saving actually make them Medicaid ineligible. This can result in paying out of pocket medical costs.
By placing their savings or other assets into a trust of some sort, they could’ve protected what they had worked for and protected their eligibility. Medical expenses and future long-term care could completely negate decades of smart savings. There are also circumstances where people leave properties to heirs in their will, but after they die, creditors show up and estate taxes eat up large portions of inheritance. This can turn a loving gift to family members into substantial legal hassles.
It’s important to do your best to avoid these and other unfortunate outcomes. Speak with an asset protection attorney in Tampa at Decker Legacy Law today.
What Are The Different Asset Protection Tools?
Clearly, asset protection strategies are an important part of protecting your money, investments, property, and other assets. It only takes one lawsuit, unexpected illness, or well-meaning inheritance to cause personal or financial difficulties. However, it’s important to know that there are a variety of asset protection tools available — and not all of them are right for every situation. Here’s just a small sampling of the strategies available:
- Establish irrevocable trust
- Power of attorney
- Adding account beneficiaries
- Transferring assets
- Create special needs, insurance, or charitable trust
- Spend down
For some asset protection approaches, there’s the minimal effort required and little risk of disputes in court. For instance, if you add a beneficiary to a bank account, there’s no question that the beneficiary can access the money after you’re gone. However, this would do little to help if you were trying to maintain Medicaid eligibility under applicable laws. This sounds complex, but a Tampa asset protection attorney at Decker Legacy Law can help.
Do You Need An Asset Protection Attorney?
Anyone can benefit from asset protection, but do you really need a legal professional to assist you in this journey? To be clear, there are certain strategies that you can employ on your own. For instance, adding a beneficiary to a savings account can easily be done online. However, this only protects your assets in certain circumstances. If you suddenly become ill or need long-term care, the money in such an account could create issues and be at risk.
A Tampa asset protection attorney can help do far more than simply ensure your savings goes to the right person if you die. A legal professional can put the real property, retirement accounts, money, and other assets into safeguarded trusts. They can help you create an estate plan that accounts for all possible contingencies. Put simply, a lawyer can ensure you know what strategies are available to you and how to properly use them.
Contact us today to learn more.
Contact Our Asset Protection Lawyers In Tampa Today
Florida law provides significant protections for your assets — as long as you know how to use them. Nursing home costs, past creditors, long-term care expenses, and various other hurdles in life can turn respectable life savings into an empty bank account. This is why you have to plan ahead for both unexpected and foreseeable outcomes. A skilled legal professional can assist in this endeavor.
At Decker Legacy Law, you’ll work directly with an attorney that can help you protect bank accounts, real estate, retirement accounts, and other assets that may be exposed to devastating expenses. We can also help you set up legal arrangements that will help maintain eligibility for government programs without losing money or properties. Contact us today by calling (813) 437-4465 to schedule a confidential consultation.
Our asset protection lawyers in Tampa are on your side and ready to assist.