Any business is exposed to lawsuits. Partners, terminated employees, dissatisfied customers, unhappy vendors all can have you in their sights. The fact that you're not negligent or haven't acted improperly doesn't guarantee that you won't be sued, or if you are sued, that you'll win the case. Juries often side with individuals in cases against a business, as they see it as a small cost to the company.
An interest in a business is personal property, and similar strategies are utilized to protect business interests as other personal assets like cash and investments. Klueger & Stein's inventory of strategies to protect your business include incorporation, limited liability companies, estate planning, and various types of trusts (including domestic self-settled trusts, foreign trusts and private retirement trusts). With our broad experience, we custom-design the strategy that fits your business and circumstance best.
We also often help clients restructure their existing business operations to separate the valuable assets of the business, like intellectual property or equipment, from the liabilities of the business.
For clients who desire privacy and want to separate themselves from their business, we are adept at setting up privacy shields and information disclosure obstacles.
The company is a successful California-based homebuilder. Over the past few years, following many construction defect lawsuits, the firm found it more and more difficult to carry liability insurance. Coverage was just too expensive. Eventually, the decision was made to stop carrying insurance coverage altogether.
Without insurance coverage, the company-and possibly its owners-was exposed to future lawsuits. Asset protection for the company and its owners was the best alternative to insurance coverage.
The company's operations had to be restructured so that the liability arising out of any one building project would reach only a limited amount of the company's assets, if any. A separate legal entity was established for each construction project. Their protection was enhanced further by having different entities own the real estate and do the development work.
An additional layer of entities further insulated the individual owners from the liabilities of the business. The ownership of the personal assets of the owners was further restructured.
In its first test, this protective structuring worked as planned-seeing the level of protection it faced, the plaintiff dropped a potential class action lawsuit and accepted a surprisingly low settlement offer.
 |
 |
New Video Podcasts: If you really want to learn about asset protection planning, pour a cup of coffee and tune in to our Asset Protection Podcasts. These recent seminars taught by asset protection specialists Jacob Stein and Bob Klueger are available online.
view or listen to our podcasts...
Mr. Stein is one of California's best known attorneys, teaching dozens of legal seminars each year on the subjects of asset protection and...
Mr. Klueger is one of the very few private attorneys in America who has argued a tax case before the United States Supreme Court...
RobbReport.com speaks with asset protection specialist Jacob Stein, Esq. of Klueger & Stein, LLP in Los Angeles about the importance of protecting valuable assets, such as your private residence, rental real estate, investments and retirement plans.
