Dunedin Asset Protection Attorney

We work hard all our lives to build up wealth. Yet a single event such as a civil lawsuit or the need to apply for Medicaid can wipe everything out in an instant. One way to protect yourself and your family against such a scenario is to develop an asset protection strategy that can secure your critical assets from outside claims.

If done incorrectly, however, asset protection can create more problems than it solves for you. That is why you need to work with a qualified Dunedin asset protection attorney. Attorney William Rambaum is a Florida Board Certified Elder Law Specialist with over 35 years of experience in helping clients throughout Pinellas County develop effective and lasting asset protection strategies. He can review your family’s financial situation and advise you on the legal steps you can take to protect yourself moving forward.

Why Do You Need to Protect Your Assets?

There are two broad forms of asset protection that our clients typically need. The first is to protect their assets from potential judgment creditors. The second is to shield certain assets for the purpose of Medicaid eligibility.

Under Florida law, a creditor can go after many of a person’s assets in order to satisfy a civil judgment. Simply transferring those assets into a revocable trust, which is commonly used in estate planning, will not protect against such creditor claims. Instead, there are more specialized kinds of trusts that can help. In many cases, these trusts are considered irrevocable, meaning once they are established you cannot change the terms–but the assets in those trusts will no longer be available to your creditors.

With respect to Medicaid eligibility, trusts are used to legally exclude certain assets from counting as your personal property when applying for benefits. If you need Medicaid assistance to pay for long-term nursing home care, for example, you are only allowed to have a certain amount of “countable” assets in your name. But if you follow the proper procedures to place any excess assets in trust, you can not only meet Medicaid’s requirements, you can also ensure those assets are still available to benefit you and the rest of your family.

Asset protection is also not limited to trusts. Depending on your situation, there may be other tools that can help you meet your asset protection needs, such as purchasing additional insurance policies or establishing a limited liability company or family limited partnership.

Contact Dunedin Asset Protection Attorney William Rambaum Today

Asset protection is not something you should put off until it becomes necessary. Indeed, the longer you wait, the less effective any asset protection strategy is likely to be. So it is important to be proactive in seeking legal advice now, even if you are not faced with an immediate crisis that threatens your property and finances.

If you would like to speak with an experienced Dunedin asset protection lawyer, call William Rambaum today at 727-781-5357 to schedule an appointment.