One of the essential ingredients of business success is liability protection. Owners of private businesses must fully understand that without complete asset protection, their personal assets are vulnerable to claims based upon their business. Properly protecting oneself from liability must go further than merely obtaining traditional forms of insurance. Business owners must work with an asset protection attorney to develop a plan which effectively protects and separates all assets, both business and personal assets.
One popular form of asset protection involves the use of family limited partnerships. Such partnerships allow liability, control and ownership to be strategically allocated between limited and general partners. An additional form of asset protection involves an offshore asset protection trust. Depending on the needs of the individual, foreign asset protection trusts can provide the added security that assets are no longer under the jurisdiction of U.S. courts, and beyond the reach of a U.S. creditor.
By minimizing exposure to risk and properly protecting business and personal assets, a business owner will be secure in knowing that everything he or she has worked so hard to build is preserved and protected.