Asset Protection

May 4, 2011

Florida Legislature Fixes Charging Order Protection for LLC’s

Florida’s Governor is expected to sign a bill that was passed by the Florida Senate on April 29th, 2011 which will apparently retroactively make a charging order the sole and exclusive remedy by which a judgment creditor of a member or a member’s assignee may satisfy a judgment from a the interest in an LLC and that foreclosure is not an available remedy in a multi member LLC.

Single member LLC do not have asset protection and a creditor of the member can apply top foreclosure on the membership interest of the owner of the LLC when it is shown that distributions will not satisfy the judgment within a reasonable amount of time.

Here is the house bill text on the subject which was passed on May 2nd 2011

February 22, 2011

Estate Tax, Inheritance Tax, What about Both?

by David M. Goldman

According to a Market Watch article by Bill Bischoff, on the Worst Places to Die, New Jersey Tops the list with a combined effective estate and inheritance tax rate of 54.1 %.

Estate tax is bad enough but several states have an inheritance tax. Yes you could actually leave money to a family member and they could be charged a percentage of your assets by the state they live in. Florida residents are not subject to either a state inheritance tax or a state estate tax.

While 16 states have a state estate tax only 6 have inheritance taxes and two states have both (New Jersey and Maryland)

December 7, 2010

Using a Business Entity as the General Partner of a Limited Partnership

by David M. Goldman

One needs to be careful that they do not expose their assets in a Florida Limited Partnership to forced distributions because they choose a general partner that can be take over. In the past and in many other states, it is common to protect the GP from liability by making it a corporation or LLC. The problem with this is that if a creditor is able to take over the entity because of a judgment, then the creditor acting as the General Partner can force distributions that they can then attach by means of a charging order.

You should review your limited partnership agreements with a Florida Asset Protection Lawyer to review your LP structure for potential problems in light of recent Florida cases.

Florida does have a LLLP which can remove the liability of the general partner without the use of a more complicated business structure.

December 7, 2010

Oklahoma Law Lets Executors manage Online Social Media Accounts

by David M. Goldman

A new law in Oklahoma appears to let estate executors have the power to access, administer, or terminate online social media accounts of the deceased. This law is in direct contradiction to the licensing arrangements of most online accounts and it has yet to be seen how and if the law will provide rights to estates.

The law should remind the people as they go about their estate planning that, in addition to their personal and real property, they should make plans for the vast amount of intellectual property they will leave behind.

As digital photo accounts, iTunes accounts, cell phone applications, and email accounts replace their traditional counterparts with many people, it is becoming more important than ever to address these assets in every estate plan.

November 15, 2010

The Future of Multi-Member LLC’s in Florida

by David M. Goldman

The recent court decision which removed the charging order protection for single member LLC’s has raised concern over whether a multi member LLC has charging order protection.

In addition, a member in Florida is defined as one who has an an economic interest in a Florida LLC as well as one who has been admitted as a member. In the case of bankruptcy, one may no longer be considered a “member” as defined in Florida law.

Many Florida lawyers are advising those who have single or multi member LLC’s in Florida to switch them to LLC’s in other states or change them to Florida Limited Liability Partnerships. Please note that just changing to a FLLP or FLLLP is not enough, one must have a special operating agreement which sets fourth obligations that will make it an executory contract in the case of bankruptcy.

September 2, 2010

Florida Constitution can protect two Florida Homes as Homestead

by David M. Goldman

The Homestead Exemption in Florida, which was established in the State’s Constitution, has always provided for the protection of the Family home free from creditors and liens. In 1985 the Constitution was amended to extend the protection to the “natural person” and not necessarily having to be the head of the household. The 4th district Court of Appeals ruled that a husband and wife who are separated for a period of time can BOTH claim the Florida Homestead Protection from creditors. This ruling does nothing to allow two homestead tax deductions. Law v. Law et al., 738 So. 2d 522.

The case involves a husband and wife who were separated for several years. They both claimed Homestead exemption for the Hollywood home that they owned jointly. But when his mother got sick, he and his wife decided to sell the home to pay for the medical bills. His ex-wife had a claim against him for support and brought action to seek recovery through the sell of the home. He filed for Homestead exemption. The court of appeals ruled that “we see nothing inconsistent with our public policy if we extend a homestead exemption to each of two people who are married, but legitimately live apart in separate residences, if they otherwise meet the requirements.” Court referencing Colwell v. Royal International Trading Corp., 226 B.R. 714 (Bank S.D. Fla. 1998) to show precedent on allowing dual homestead exemption. The court seemed to find it important to find that the separation was not contrived to defraud creditors.

If you would like to talk about how to create two homesteads and document them to avoid unnecessary litigation over the issue, contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer or if one or more of your home is in foreclosure contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer.

August 20, 2010

Protecting My Assets Using A Florida LLC: What are the Options?

by David M. Goldman

Due to the recent decision of the Florida Supreme Court, many single-member limited liability company owners have been left confused and upset. The Ohmstead decision expressly eliminated most of the asset protection benefits that single-member LLCs were thought to have. Creditors of the member can use all available remedies to recover their debt, not just the charging lien that was thought to be the sole remedy. Now it may be possible for a creditor to force the sale of LLC assets and seize all management decision-making.

This decision has sparked new ideas on how to protect debtors who are the owner in a single-member LLC. According to one academic, adding an unrelated business partner as a new member could offer protection. This would require the new member receive some consideration such as a share of the profits so that the reorganization would not be a fraudulent transfer. Also, a second option would be to reorganize the LLC in another state with more desirable LLC protections. Some LLC owners may consider converting to limited partnerships to offer a stronger protection that might be available under the current law. The Florida legislature is expected to address this issue in the future to clarify the standing of multimember LLC’s

While the decision did not deal with multi-member LLC’s, there is language in the opinion that has raised concern with many around the state over the issue of whether a multi-member LLC offers asset protection in Florida. It seems that it might be possible for a creditor to pierce a LLC and foreclosure on the shares, which may not be possible with a limited partnership interest. Given the current uncertainty with asset protection and LLC’s in Florida you should have your operating agreements reviewed to make sure that they are updated to include provisions that would not permit a creditor who has taken an interest in the LLC to vote or participate in the business decisions, is not guaranteed any distributions, and any moneys that would be provided to the original members who have creditor problems are use to purchase annuities for that member or are paid in the form of wages if that individual’s wages are protected from creditors

August 20, 2010

Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer

by David M. Goldman

The Law Office of David M. Goldman PLLC has expanded again and added a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer and a Jacksonville FDCPA Lawyer who can help Stop Creditor Harassment in Florida. Look for an exciting announcement with a new lawyer addition next week in a related area of Florida Estate Planning.

This week our new Blog designs went live. Please let us know what you think about our Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyers Blog

Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

August 10, 2010

Asset Protection: IRA’s and other Retirement Accounts

by David M. Goldman

In a recent article by Kelly Greene of the Wall Street Journal, she explains methods in which individuals can protect their retirement accounts. Over an individual’s lifetime an IRA (Individual Retirement Account) can accrue hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars. There is a high possibility that these retirement accounts will have significant assets left in them when you pass away. One of the main goals of Florida Estate Planning is to make certain your hard earned money is spent according to your final wishes. In order to control how quickly your children or heirs can spend their inheritance, most individuals are led to trust documents.

In a ruling last year, a Florida State Court found that inherited IRAs are not protected from creditors in civil court cases, with the exception of bankruptcy proceedings. Consequently, it is advisable to create an IRA trust where the account holder can name one or more trusts as the retirement account beneficiary instead of leaving the IRA outright to an heir where it could be subject to the claims of their creditors. Not only do you control how your retirement account is spent, but also with this type of Florida Estate Planning you can receive tax-free growth on the funds. Forming an IRA Trust is a complicated process therefore if you require any assistance contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer.

August 2, 2010

Estate Planning and Commercial Services

by David M. Goldman

Estate planning for Digital Assets is a topic that was covered in a two part article by Oregon Estate Planning Attorney on his Wealth Law blog. In the second part of his article Estate Planning and “Virtual Assets” – Part 2 Michael discusses the importance of determining who should receive your virtual assets and cautions readers in the use of commercial services to hold your virtual assets because of the risk of loss associated with the improper storage or release of the assets to others.

While these are valid points, a bigger concern in my mind is that most of these commercial services appear to violate the the terms of the licenses by allowing others to use your accounts after your death and potentially create liability to your estate. The Digital Asset Protection Trust is the only solution that appears to resolve the legal issues and deal with digital assets correctly. To create a Digital Asset Protection Trust contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer to discuss your circumstances.