It is that time of year in which people are just realizing that their leases are expiring and are searching for a new place with the best rate, location, and amenities available.  This means for you, rental property owners, that your doors are about to be flooded with people looking for the best deal they can find.  However, before you accept any new leases, it is very important to make sure that all your assets are protected.

Asset protection is simply risk management planning that tries to prevent a lawsuit before it happens.  A comprehensive asset protection plan will be structured with the thought in mind that someday the plan may be laid out in front of a judge or a creditor who wants to attack the plan.  Even though there is no perfect strategy that will protect all of your assets all the time, there are ways, as a rental property owner, you can protect yourself from future liability, like creating your business as a limited liability company (LLC).

An LLC limits personal vulnerability to potential lawsuits related to the property. For example, if a lessee has a party and someone happens to get hurt, it would prevent the victim from going after your personal assets.

Also, as the owner of the rental property, you can enjoy the benefits of pass-through taxation. Since the IRS classifies a real estate holding company with one owner as they would a sole proprietorship.  The LLC is disregarded for federal tax purposes and income and capital gains from the LLC pass through directly to you.  Therefore, you are able to avoid double taxation, while still enjoying the protections offered by the LLC.  However, if you happen to have several owners, you not only get the benefit of pass-through taxation, but you also enjoy more flexibility than either a corporation or a partnership because you can have owners or third-party managers manage your rental property.

Essentially, as a property owner, it is important to protect yourself from future lawsuits and potential creditors.  Therefore, by setting up your business as an LLC, not only do you avoid personal liability, but you also get some extra tax benefits.

For more information on Estate Planning, Asset Protection, and Probate administration visit our website at www.wfplaw.com

It’s A Wild World. Are Your Protected?

Chances are that at some point you have considered using your IRA funds to make some type of profitable investment (or you will at some point in your future!).  You may have also felt limited in doing so to either investing in only stocks or bonds.  If you find yourself nodding your head while reading this blogpost, then rest assured you’re not alone in feeling that way – most individuals feel limited in their options when investing their IRA funds.  The good news is that taking control of your IRA is only two steps away!

1. In order to open up your investment options you should first consider moving your IRA to a Self Directed Custodian. Truth is, you could stop here but there will be a few draw backs. First, you will have to consult with the custodian prior to making investments, such as purchasing a piece of real estate inside your IRA. The custodian would have to title the real estate on behalf of your IRA – a task that would not only be time consuming and inconvenient, but costly since the custodian will charge extra fees for it. If this doesn’t seem appealing, then move onto step two below.
2. Once you have moved your IRA to a Self Directed Custodian, you then will want to create an IRA Checkbook Limited Liability Company (“LLC”). Once you create this Checkbook LLC, the Self Directed Custodian will give you a check for the amount of cash you desire from your IRA. You will then deposit this check into your LLC’s account and, since you are the manager of this account, you have full “checkbook control” over the assets. Now the options really begin to open up! You can purchase real estate, stocks, bonds, notes and make other investments permitted by the IRS. If this task seems a bit confusing or scary, have no fear – the attorneys at Wild, Felice and Partners will guide you through the process and simplify everything along the way.

For more information about IRA investing or the Checkbook LLC, please call the South Florida Law Firm of Wild, Felice & Partners at (954) 944-2855.  Call today to schedule your free consultation and allow our attorneys to provide you with the ultimate peace of mind!

It’s A Wild World.  Are You Protected? SM

Are you protected?

Don’t leave your assets vulnerable to attack. Much like a goalie, asset protection planning will help to shield your assets from attack.

Asset protection is a broad term, encompassing many different techniques, but here at our South Florida law firm, we focus our asset protection on two areas: estate planning and business formation. In the area of estate planning, the main approach is to use trusts to dispose of your assets rather than a will. A trust protects your assets by first avoiding probate and all of the costs (both monetary and time) associated with that process. Secondly, trusts protect your assets by keeping them in your family. With a will, the asset is no longer yours to control following the first disposition, a trust allows you to control the asset for multiple generations. This makes sure that the inheritance will never be taken by divorce or remarriage. For example, if you want to give all of your estate to your daughter and then to her children, a trust allows you to do this without giving any to her spouse. Furthermore, a trust protects your beneficiaries from themselves, if they are either too young or not fiscally responsible. Because they are the beneficiary and not necessarily the trustee, you can name a trustee who will make the financial decisions for them. Finally, trusts offer asset protection by being creditor protected. Assets that are in a trust can not be reached by creditors, assuring that the inheritance remains with the beneficiary.

Choosing the proper business form also works as asset protection. If you own a business as a sole proprietor or even in a general partnership, you can be personally liable for all of the debts of the business. Limited partnerships, LLCs, and corporations can protect your asset from business debts. A limited partnership consists of two classes of partners: a general partner, who manages and is more active, and a limited partner, who is more like an investor. The limited partner’s liability is limited to whatever they have put into the company, whereas the general partner remains liable for all the debt. An LLC offers limited liability as well, while allowing for more active participation. The manager of a multi-member LLC makes the decisions and runs the company, but is still afforded protection. If someone sues an LLC, they can only recover the company’s assets. Subsequently, if a person sues the manager of an LLC for a personal matter, the assets of the LLC are protected from this personal creditor. Finally, a corporation offers protection to all of its shareholders while also offering increased flexibility with the management structure. A corporation allows for different classes of stock with different voting abilities. Corporations also allow you to raise capital by issuing stock.

Regardless of what business form you end up choosing, you must also engage in business succession planning. Because all of these business forms are separate legal entities, they will survive after you are gone. Therefore, you must plan for what happens to your companies or you risk them dying. If you have multiple members or partners in your company, you can arrange a plan beforehand in which they buy your shares at a predetermined price. The company could then purchase life insurance in that amount to make sure that the company does not have cash flow issues and does not have to sell off company assets to buy your stake.

Whether you are looking at asset protection from an estate planning or business formation standpoint, our attorneys can help be your goalie and protect the assets you’ve worked so hard to acquire.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation, or visit our website at www.wfplaw.com

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?