California Asset Protection Attorney, Sebastian Gibson
Asset Protection - Fraudulent Transfers and Fraudulent Conveyances
If you’ve been searching for California asset protection lawyers or offshore asset protection attorneys in California and haven’t found the asset protection attorney in which you can be confident when retaining a lawyer for your asset protection, voluntary disclosure, offshore trust protection and family limited partnership matters in California, Sebastian Gibson is the asset protection attorney you’ve been looking for.
California Asset Protection Lawyer
With over thirty years of experience handling international matters, with law degrees in both California and in Great Britain, and years of international experience in London as well as decades of experience in California, California asset protection lawyer Sebastian Gibson brings a wealth of experience to the table and was chosen one of the 2011 Top Lawyers by Palm Springs Life Magazine.
Well designed asset protection planning doesn’t mean providing client with asset protection advice will always provide the means to avoid litigation based on claims of fraudulent transfers and/or fraudulent conveyances. It means providing advice by asset protection attorneys that allows comprehensive estate planning strategies to withstand litigation and afford the client a defense if such litigation arises.
An individual who transfers assets for the sole purpose of preventing creditors from obtaining those assets in litigation may be found by a court to have fraudulently conveyed or transferred the assets. And unfortunately, in some states such as California, the statute of limitations for such claims is exceedingly long.
If a court finds that the individual fraudulently conveyed his or her assets, the court will void the transfer and return the assets to their previous status or owner, in which case, they will be vulnerable to being attached by the creditor or plaintiff.
To avoid a claim that there has been a fraudulent transfer, or at least to provide the debtor or defendant with a good defense to such a lawsuit, an asset protection plan should be put in place years before any such claims arise. That asset protection plain should also be part of a much more valid purpose, such as being just one piece of the individual’s estate and tax planning efforts, which may include the drafting of a will, a family limited partnership and/or offshore trust.
Additionally, transfers made for genuine business reasons and estate planning such as providing a way to successfully pass on a family business to one’s heirs are a legitimate reason to set up a family limited partnership. Where the transfers are made for consideration, such as for limited partnership interests, they should be protected by the savings clause of Section 9 of the Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act.
Family limited partnerships should only be structured so that general partners receive a proportionate interest in the family limited partnership based upon the amounts of their capital contributions. A partner who obtains a disproportionately small interest compared to a spouse, for instance, who contributes the same amount of capital, can face a claim based on a cause of action for fraudulent transfer in some states by a creditor for the amount given away without receiving a fair consideration.
When assets aren’t liquid such as real estate, they can’t be transferred offshore. The remedy in such a situation when an individual is seeking asset protection for illiquid assets offshore is to sell the assets (and lease a home, if the asset is the family home) and transfer the proceeds to an entity such as a foreign trust or offshore LLC. When offshore asset protection strategies have been followed by a client, claims of fraudulent conveyances and fraudulent transfers are much more difficult to maintain.
Remember, anyone can sue anyone else in America for any reason whatsoever. It doesn’t mean they will win. And having an estate plan that includes transfers of assets to family limited partnerships or offshore trusts long before such litigation has begun doesn’t mean you will automatically prevail against a creditor. Asset protection is instead, a way to provide you with a defense to such a lawsuit that, if the asset protection planning is implemented properly, and the asset protection scheme is argued well before an astute judge in a state with laws favorable to you, it should help an individual prevail in most such litigation. No attorney can guarantee success and if any attorney does guarantee it, they may well be in violation of state bar rules.
What is good for the client who is seeking asset protection is equally good for the attorney concerned with becoming embroiled in fraudulent transfer claims and litigation. Asset protection schemes utilizing foreign trusts and offshore LLC’s should only be used as part of a comprehensive estate and tax planning strategy to provide a defense, if needed, against a claim that the sole purpose of the creation of a foreign entity was to defeat the claim of a creditor.
In compliance with IRS requirements, we must advise you that any U.S. federal tax asset protection advice contained in this informational article concerning fraudulent conveyances and fraudulent transfers is not intended to be used nor is it published in order for it to be used and you may not use it for the purpose of avoiding penalties or fines under the Internal Revenue Code. It is not intended to be used nor is it being published in order to promote, market or recommend any specific transaction, tax-related matter or estate planning tax scheme to any party.
California Asset Protection Attorney, Sebastian Gibson
Sought out to be a writer for California’s two largest and most prestigious legal newspapers, California asset protection attorney Sebastian Gibson’s articles have been published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal and the San Francisco Daily Journal. Today thousands and thousands of people visit this website and his blogs monthly for useful advice and thousands more follow him on Twitter for his humor.
One of the best asset protection attorneys for people in California to follow for his humor and wit, one of the funniest California asset protection lawyers as well as one of the top humorous California asset protection attorneys people follow on Twitter, California asset protection attorney Sebastian Gibson has been called "brilliant," "hilariously funny" and a "legend."
It matters more than you think who you call for your asset protection and other legal matters. When it matters most, call California asset protection lawyer Sebastian Gibson. When it’s time to hire a California asset protection attorney, hire a legend.
