Gainesville Asset Protection Attorney

Asset protection means a strategy for preserving your assets from creditors and potential creditors. Florida actually has comparatively favorable law with respect to creditor protection and makes it possible to protect your assets quite effectively by making relatively simple changes, particularly if you are married. If you are considering marriage, then a prenuptial agreement can be an absolutely essential part of protecting your assets from the possibility of divorce. The asset protection attorney team at Harrison Estate Law, P.A. can also incorporate advice during our estate planning process for all clients who are concerned with asset protection. A few of the strategies that can be employed are the following:

Florida Homestead Exemption

Florida provides an exemption for your home — protecting it and its value from most creditors — if it is on 1/2 acre or less inside city limits or 160 acres or less outside city limits, subject to certain exceptions.

Tenants by the Entireties

If you are married and set up joint bank or brokerage accounts, then properly titled accounts will protect the assets from any creditor suing only one spouse. Under current law, if your bank does not have an option for “tenants by the entireties” then the law presumes that your account receives this protection. If your bank does offer “tenants by the entireties” as a titling option and you did not choose it when you set up the joint account, then you will need to make a change in order to protect your assets.

Life Insurance, Annuities, and Qualified Plans

These types of assets and accounts are generally provided with broad statutory protection against creditors in Florida.

LLCs

Limited liability companies can be used to restrict the ability of creditors to reach underlying assets owned by an LLC. Because of lending requirements, it is often impractical to title residential rental property in an LLC, in which case insurance becomes a more important consideration.

Asset Protection Attorney in Gainesville, FL

Harrison Estate Law is happy to speak with you about how our asset protection and estate planning services can help you meet your goals. Please contact us online or via email or call 352-559-9828 to schedule a complementary asset protection consultation. If you don’t live close to Gainesville we are happy to set up a phone or Zoom call. We have extended evening and weekend appointments available by request.