Asset Protection the LegalJourney Way

Serving the Tampa Bay Area Including Tampa, St Petersburg & Clearwater 

The LegalJourney Law Firm designs asset protection strategies as part of estate planning to safeguard the wealth of business owners, professionals, property owners and their families. We can advise you on protecting your business assets and personal wealth against potential litigation, judgments, liens and fraud by establishing the appropriate business entities and creating special trusts.

Business Entities

We provide advice and assistance in setting up business entities in order to separate your personal holdings from your business assets. We are familiar with the legal, estate and tax implications related to corporations, limited partnerships and limited liability corporations.

By setting up your small business as a corporation, we can protect your personal assets from creditors and other legal claims. At the same time, a limited partnership may better suit your business goals. In this arrangement, the general partner assumes all the liability but the limited partners are protected. Finally, we have also advised doctors, lawyers and accountants in establishing a limited liability corporation (LLC), an entity that is specifically designed to protect a professional's personal assets from judgments against the practice or business. 

Special Trusts

At Legal Journey law firm, we often recommend special trusts to shield assets from probate costs, creditor claims, judgments and liens, and federal and state taxes. We have expertise in a number of asset protection strategies including:

• Family Limited Partnership
• Revocable Living Trust
• Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust
• Qualified Personal Residence Trust

Family Limited Partnership

A Family Limited Partnership (FLP) can combine your family's assets into a single business partnership in which the family members own shares. Like other limited partnerships, general partners (typically senior members like parents or grandparents) control all management and investment decisions but also have all of the liability. The partnership is not taxable, however, the owners report their ownership interests on their personal tax returns. Transferring limited partnership interests to family members reduces the taxable estate of senior family members and transfers are also eligible for the annual gift tax exclusion. An FLP also protects future generations from taxes, creditor claims and other legal actions.

Revocable Living Trust

A revocable living trust is designed to hold legal title to and provide a means for managing your property. This arrangement allows you to continue managing your affairs during your lifetime, and plan for managing your assets in the event you become incapacitated or pass away. In a revocable living trust, assets generally do not go through probate.

Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT)

An irrevocable life insurance trust is used to own life insurance for the benefit of your spouse or children. By having the trust own the policy, the value of the policy will not be included in your estate and will not be subject to estate taxes. A life insurance trust can also be used to pay off liabilities or tax obligations and protect beneficiaries from creditors.

Qualified Personal Residence Trust

A qualified personal residence trust is designed to protect your home and transfer it to your children over time. As the "grantor," you retain the right to use the residence rent-free for a set time period. At the end of the term or at the end of life, the home passes to the trust beneficiaries (usually the children). However, if you pass away during the term of the trust, the assets are included in the taxable estate.

Helping the People of Florida

At the LegalJourney law firm, we specialize in arranging your finances, business assets and real property to minimize exposure to potential creditors and other legal claims. We also establish plans to transfer of control of your business in the event of incapacity or at the end of life. By establishing trusts, determining insurance needs, creating estate plans and organizing investments and business entities, we offer you the highest level of protection of your accumulated assets.