Until recently, the Ohio limited liability company left much to be desired in its ability to protect company assets from members’ creditors. But recent updates to the law have changed all that, and our Ohio asset protection attorney’s office is now happy to recommend an Ohio LLC for asset protection purposes.

The issue that kept us from recommending an Ohio LLC to clients was that the law was unclear whether a creditor could seize a person’s assets owned by an LLC. In court cases where a creditor had obtained a judgment against a debtor whose assets were owned by an LLC, some judges ruled that the creditor could seize those assets and some said they could not. This made the Ohio limited liability company structure very unreliable for protecting assets.

Ohio asset protection attorneys use a wide variety of tools and strategies to protect a client’s assets. Trusts, including irrevocable trusts, revocable trusts and asset protection trusts, are used in combination with limited liability companies (and sometimes other corporate structures), insurance policies and various types of accounts and property situations that afford varying levels of protection. 

Protecting assets isn’t about shoving all of a person’s assets into one entity or account. It also isn’t about hiding assets so they can’t be found. A good Ohio asset protection attorney takes advantage of a variety of tools that provide legal protection against seizure by creditors while still allowing the client as much control over those assets as possible.

When it comes to Ohio asset protection, attorneys and other advisors are finding they are turning more and more to advanced strategies for asset protection planning in order to fully protect clients’ assets. Additionally, they are finding that better planning and better protection results when advisors from multiple disciplines collaborate to assess a client’s needs and tailor a plan specifically to those needs.

This is especially true for businessmen and professionals who’ve amassed significant wealth. These individuals often have accumulated a wide array of assets, everything from real estate and businesses to widespread investments and insurance policies. They are also very vulnerable to lawsuits and other risks.

Ohio asset protection attorneys usually recommend that wealthy families use trusts to pass their assets and estates on to their children. From legacy trusts to trust funds for children, trusts offer a number of advantages to help ensure your estate and assets are preserved for your children and future descendants in the way that you desire with minimal taxes and minimum risk of loss to creditors.

At our Dayton, Ohio asset protection attorneys’ office, we use a variety of trusts depending on our clients’ needs. While there are common strategies used by Ohio asset protection attorneys that have good track records for results, no two people have the same situation, goals and details. Only by working with a skilled and experienced attorney can you develop a plan that meets your specific needs.

LLCs and asset protection — In Dayton and Ohio, asset protection attorneys frequently use a limited liability company (LLC) as part of an overall strategy to protect a client’s assets from potential creditors. Often clients have heard about forming limited liability companies in various states and want to know whether an out-of-state LLC is ideal for them and, if so, which state should they form their LLC in.

Domestic asset protection trusts (DAPTs) are a valuable tool for protecting hard-earned assets against loss due to lawsuits, divorces, bankruptcy and other creditors. However, Ohio’s trust laws do not yet provide asset protection to self-settled trusts (trusts in which the maker is also a beneficiary) formed in Ohio. So how do wealthy Ohioans take advantage of this essential asset protection tool?

As an Ohio asset protection attorney, I frequently recommend that clients use an out-of-state irrevocable trust and limited liability company (LLC) to protect their assets against creditors, lawsuits and unnecessary taxes because using the two together provides a powerful level of protection while still giving the individual control over their assets.

“How can I control my assets if I sign them over to a trust or limited liability company?”

I get this question a lot. It’s a good question. In order for an irrevocable trust or LLC to provide protection to assets an individual must transfer ownership of the assets over to the trust or limited liability company. So how can you control something you don’t own?

In Ohio, asset protection lawyers often use a limited liability company  (LLC) as part of an asset protection strategy. But an LLC must be structured correctly and specific requirements and ongoing procedures must be met if the LLC is to offer any asset protection at all.

In Ohio, asset protection lawyers frequently use revocable and irrevocable trusts as part of an asset protection plan. But the trusts must be structured correctly and used correctly to offer any asset protection to the Trustmaker, who is often also a trust beneficiary.

Completed gift domestic asset protection trusts (DAPTs) take advantage of U.S. tax law and trust laws in some states to protect up to $5 million from estate and gift taxes.

As a Dayton, Ohio asset protection attorney, one of the tools I use to minimize the taxes my clients pay on their estate is the completed gift DAPT. This tool allows people to transfer over $5 million to a self-settled asset protection trust and count it as a “gift” without having to pay gift taxes or estate taxes on that money.

Besides minimizing taxes, because of the nature of the trust, the Trustmaker also has access to his or her assets, including any income generated by the asset.