Generational Asset Protection Planning
Share this post
None of us can live forever. Even with the best medicine, eventually, we all meet the same finality that Mark Twain so eloquently reminded us is a certainty aside from taxes. That said, the assets we have worked for and built up stay behind. Through generational asset protection, they can at least be directed to do some good down the line. We can focus on those we care about and love.
The most basic tool available for generational asset transfer is a will. However, there are other effective legal tools available beyond the traditional estate planning instruments. They can move assets faster with less hassle. By applying different timing we can look at an estate distribution by an executor and probate court.
Generational Asset Protection via a Trust
A trust is an artificial legal entity that can take title to assets. It works as a contingency mechanism for asset protection planning. When a specific event happens defined in the trust, the trust then takes the assets it has ownership of and moves them to the beneficiaries.
Trusts can be revocable, which can be changed while the owner of the trust is alive. They can be irrevocable, which means they cannot be changed once executed. Trusts are very useful for the efficient movement of assets or protection of them until a beneficiary is ready (i.e., reaches a set age).
Additionally, trusts protect assets from having to go through probate, where a court or parties suing could interfere with a common will.
Finally, trusts help protect assets from other liabilities, such as running a business that incurs expenses or lawsuits that have to be settled from personal wealth. Since the trust owns the assets and not you, those business liabilities cannot reach the trust.
Legalities Require the Help of an Estate Planning Lawyer
Because of the nature of how generational asset protection tools work in Illinois, a qualified estate planning attorney is needed to put everything into place correctly. Whether using a trust, a will, or other vehicles, various legal documents have to be drafted, executed by signature, witnessed, and, in some cases, confirmed by a notary or similar. All of these steps are necessary to ensure that if a planning tool is ever challenged, the Illinois state court can immediately recognize that the tool is valid, confirmed, and binding.
Done correctly, certain estate planning tools like trusts also maintain privacy, which can be a valuable advantage when a party wants to protect younger generations from intrusion or being targeted by unscrupulous characters looking to take advantage of their newly-received wealth and youth. The protection also keeps prying eyes out of family business as well. The same cannot be said for a will. For example, such documents have to go through probate, which in turn makes them public records.
Finding the Right Estate Planning Attorneys in Chicago
Anthony J. Madonia & Associates, Ltd. has helped dozens of families understand, plan for, and execute generational asset protection successfully. As family law attorneys in Chicago, IL, our firm is ideally qualified to handle Illinois estate planning.
There is no shame in wanting to find the best way to protect wealth for generations. Be proud of what you have earned and how you will make things easier for your relatives. Anthony J. Madonia & Associates, Ltd. can help. Call us today to set up an initial meeting and discussion. We can help you navigate your wealth transfer correctly and help with adjustments as needed over time as life changes.