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Real Estate Investing and Asset Protection

Real Estate Investing and Asset Protection

This post is a bit of a departure from our usual posts.  Last Saturday, Colin and I went to the Seattle Investor’s Club meeting to talk their real estate investors how to use asset protection to protect themselves.

We got a lot of really great questions about asset protection.  The people at the Seattle Investor’s Club are a great, diverse group of folks.  There are newbies, veterans, service providers, and active investors.  There are people who focus on short sales, holding long term properties, or commercial real estate.

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Estate Planning Attorney Definitions: Power of Attorney

Power of Attorney Definition

People often call us wanting a “simple will.” It’s on their “to-do” list.  They poked around on the internet, armed themselves with information, and then called us or some other estate planning attorney demanding their simple will.  That’s perfectly okay and they could be right.  Often, though, they are confused about what that simple will actually is, and how other documents, like a power of attorney can be of much greater value.

This may not be what every estate planning attorney considers a simple will, but, for us, it is actually a package of documents. The main documents that make up a simple will package is a Will, Financial Power of Attorney; a Healthcare Power of Attorney; HIPAA Releases; and the Living Will (also known as Healthcare Directives).  We include all of these documents to ensure your health AND your “stuff” are addressed in case of an emergency.  For this post, we will only be focusing on defining the Power of Attorney documents.

What is a Power of Attorney?

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Asset Protection Strategies: Life Insurance

As an asset protection attorney, I get suspicious when I hear people talk about assets and investments that are “totally protected” from lawsuits and creditors. As the cliche goes, the only things guaranteed in life, are death and taxes. Protection from creditors always depends on the type of asset and the state (or country) you live in. Take an IRA for example. Any type of IRA is protected from creditors for residents of Washington state. BUT if you move to Oregon, only certain types (ERISA qualified) IRAs are protected.

If you’ve met with a financial planner in recent years, you’ve probably heard about whole life insurance policies or high cash value life insurance policies. 100% of the advisors I have met have stated that these policies are protected from creditors. Turns out, you need to slap a lawyer’s two favorite words on there: “it depends.” [Read more…] about Asset Protection Strategies: Life Insurance

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Estate Planning Attorney Definitions: What is a living trust?

What is a living trust?

One of the common questions I receive as a Seattle estate planning attorney is “what is a living trust?” A living trust is a versatile tool. You maintain control over assets while you are alive and you skip probate as you transfer property at your death. It is usually referred to as a revocable living trust. A revocable trust can be changed, modified or terminated by the person who created the trust (known as a trustor or grantor). Compare that to an irrevocable trust, which cannot be terminated or modified without permission from the beneficiary of the trust. [Read more…] about Estate Planning Attorney Definitions: What is a living trust?

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Asset Protection Attorney Definitions: Hot vs. Cool Assets

If you think back to the 80s, you might remember the McDonald’s McDLT (check out the commercial below if you don’t remember). McDonald’s was selling a burger with packaging that kept the hot side hot, and the cool side cool. Although the McDLT didn’t last, the hot vs. cool  asset strategy is used in smart asset protection and estate planning protection. [Read more…] about Asset Protection Attorney Definitions: Hot vs. Cool Assets