Asset Protection in Vancouver, WA

A well-crafted plan that shelters and protects your assets and avoids costly litigation.

Our Estate Planning Process Makes It Easy

Picture of two female attorneys going over paperwork at a desk.

Asset protection is an essential but often overlooked component in Estate Planning. Our goal is always to be as efficient and time conscious as possible for our clients. Our asset protection attorney in Vancouver, WA, will make the process of planning for your estate as easy and as pain-free as possible. We will also craft a plan that best fits your needs at a reasonable price. If you would like to assemble an asset protection plan, we would begin the process as follows.

As easy as 1, 2, 3

Free Consultation

Set up a time to either meet or speak on the phone with our asset protection lawyer. We know you are busy, so we will always try to complete the task on the phone if possible.

Preparation Questionnaire

Beforehand, either you or your financial professional can send me your information, or you can complete our emailed questionnaire. The more information you can provide us upfront, the better!

Planning Meeting

We will talk about your unique situation, get an understanding of your asset protection goals and start outlining options that might fit your needs. I then send you a summary and an exact quote for drafting documents. If you agree, you instruct me to move forward, and I start writing. Easy!

Schedule a consultation today

If you have any questions about Asset Protection in Vancouver, WA, or any other estate planning topics, feel free to contact us to schedule a consultation. Vancouver Wills and Trusts solely focuses on Estate Law. Our focused experience allows us to explain complex estate planning techniques clearly and concisely. We make it easy for you to understand Prenuptial Agreements and Asset Protection so you can make the best decisions for yourself and your family.

Developing Your Asset Protection Plan

Prenuptial Agreements

How to protect your assets in a divorce? Begin with a Prenuptial Agreement. A Prenuptial Agreement is a vital part of every estate and asset protection plan. A Prenuptial Agreement does not need to be confrontational. Communication about assets forms a solid foundation for all relationships. Our Asset Protection Lawyer can help assemble an asset protection plan that is right for you.

Postnuptial Agreements or Antenuptial Agreements

Life continually brings changes, which require the updating of a Prenuptial Agreement. If you didn’t sign a Prenup, marriage has likely taught you that having a clear financial plan with your spouse is a good idea, so negotiating and signing of a Postnuptial or Antenuptial Agreement can settle concerns that could simmer into disputes.

Cohabitation Agreements

Living with someone brings up many questions and breaking up can bring conflict and litigation. A Cohabitation Agreement can spell out obligations and settle concerns that could simmer into expensive disputes.

Preserving Your Estate

We have plans, such as Asset Protection Plans that focus on keeping your estate in the family. While you may have avoided divorces and legal actions that reduce estates, your children may not be as lucky. Our Asset Protection Lawyer in Vancouver, WA, can craft a Trust to address your concerns for asset protection security with the need for your descendants’ needs. There are several asset protection strategies that can keep assets in the family forever, free of your descendant’s creditors, spouses, and certain taxes.

Family Complications (Second Families, Ex-Spouses)

Blended families raise specific issues. We will talk about techniques such as Contracts to Will, Irrevocable Trusts, and Funeral Directives with the goal of avoiding conflict and litigation while providing for your loved one’s needs.

Reducing or Avoiding Death Taxes

It takes years to master all the taxes that effect Asset Protection strategies. Good asset protection plan takes into consideration Estate Tax, Inheritance Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Income Tax, and Real Estate Tax. Talk to our Vancouver, WA, Asset Protection Attorney and see what plan fits your needs.

Protecting Your Surviving Spouse

If your spouse inherits all of your assets, then your assets are exposed. Your surviving spouse might lose your money by remarrying or by running up bills. We have techniques that allow your spouse to enjoy the inheritance, but shelter it from attacks. Let our Asset Protection Lawyer help put asset protection law to work for you!

Protecting Your Heirs

Asset Protection Trusts can protect assets from your descendants’ divorces and creditors. Our Asset Protection Lawyer in Vancouver, WA, can draft the trust to allow your descendants to enjoy their inheritance but also shelter assets from daughters-in-law and sons-in-law, as well as your children’s creditors and legal entanglements.

Planning for Illness or Disability

Our Asset Protection plans consider your needs should you ever become incapacitated or disabled. We will discuss a variety of plans, including Powers of Attorney, Living Wills, Revocable Living Trusts, Irrevocable Trusts, and more.

Providing for Special Heirs Needs

If you have a Special Needs Person in your life, we will review how to address providing for their needs without affecting their benefits. There are several ways you can provide your special needs person asset protection security. We will examine options such as Asset Protection Special Needs Trusts as well as Asset Protection Special Needs IRA Trusts and protective Guardianships.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • If you leave a child money outright, with a protective trust, then it becomes immediately available to creditors. Instead, your Estate Plan should include protective trusts such as a Dynasty Trust or Education Trust.

  • Any inheritance you leave outright to your child, including an IRA, is subject to creditors. Unpaid child support is a creditor claim, so yes, your child’s outright inheritance is subject to his ex-spouse’s claim. If you wish to shelter the estate from claims, there are several eligible Irrevocable Trusts. Let one of our Asset Protection Lawyers work with you to determine which trust addresses your needs.

  • If properly sheltered in a Irrevocable Trust, your child’s inheritance is safe from his ex-spouse’s alimony claims. But, there is no protection if you give your child an outright gift.

  • The best Asset Protection Plan for divorce begins before your marriage, with a well drafted Prenuptial Agreement. This might be an update of your Cohabitation Agreement or a new arrangement. If you didn’t negotiate a Prenuptial Agreement, or if your life and assets have changed since your wedding, it is likely time for a Postnuptial Agreement. Depending on your goals, assets, relationship with your spouse and your jurisdiction, other options are available such as using a Revocable Living Trust and Irrevocable Trusts.

  • Personal property assets include valuable jewelry, art as well as less valuable family heirlooms. Depending on the item and the long-term goals regarding the item’s use, an Irrevocable Trust can be an excellent tool to protect personal assets. Our Asset Protection Lawyers can help determine which trust best addresses your concerns.

  • Asset protection is best done before creditors exist. The best offense is a good defense. By using a series of Asset Protection tools that might include an Irrevocable Trust such as a Spousal Limited Asset Trust, assets can be put out of future creditor’s reach. Once you have an existing creditor, the task becomes more complicated and will depend on the creditor and your particular assets. Let our Asset Protection Lawyer review your situation and help develop a sturdy Asset Protection Plan.

  • We have all heard about trust fund babies, but how does one become a trust fund baby? A Trust Fund is the result of a well organized Asset Protection plan where one person, usually a parent, sets up an Irrevocable Trust for a beneficiary, often a child or grandchild. These trusts shelter the assets from the beneficiary’s creditors and spouses but allow the trustee the power to provide for the beneficiary. These trust funds vary and can be crafted to address your particular goals.

  • A self-settled trust is an Irrevocable Trust where the person who created the trust is the primary beneficiary. Typically, one person creates an Irrevocable Trust, the Grantor, for the benefit of a different person. In most states, a self-settled irrevocable trust provides no creditor protection. An exception is the Self-Settled Special Needs Trust.