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Did you know that... we live in a lawsuit-crazy society?I'll bet you do know that. And I bet you also know thatcourt judgments are getting more and more outrageous all thetime. Unless you have some sort of asset protection strategyalready set up, whatever assets you have built up can bewiped out from a lawsuit that does not go your way.

Asset protection is a means for protecting your valuablesfrom future lawsuits and creditor collection attempts. Whilemany people are looking for a solid way to do this, thereare many ways where the asset protection options that theytry are not going to work.

But, there are asset protection strategies that really dowork. What you want to do is to search out the right onesand use them effectively. Asset protection, or moreprecisely having an asset protection strategy, is somethingthat many more people should take advantage of. What I planto do in this article is to help you not take the wrong pathn your asset protection strategy.

The first thing to do is to have your asset protectionstrategy in place before you get involved in a lawsuit. Iknow, how do you know if and/or when you are going to beinvolved in a lawsuit? You don't. But,you don't want to waituntil you are being sued.

If you are involved in a lawsuit and a judgment is placedagainst you, don't try to "sell" everything to your spouseor cousin or business partner for something like $1. If youstart to arrange your assets to avoid them being taken afterthe fact of a court judgment, then that is like "closing thebarn door after the horses have escaped". It is too late.That would be deemed illegal and is known as a "fraudulenttransfer".

The court will recognize the transfer for what it is, anasset protection trick to try to keep your assets out of thehands of your creditors. The "sale" would be reversed by thecourt and the assets would have to be given to the creditoranyway.

By the way, there are also other things to be wary of wheninvolving a spouse, another family member or relative oreven a business associate in an asset protection scheme.

If it is found that your scheme was in violation of theFraudulent Transfer Act then you could not only lose theassets that you were trying to protect, but there is theadditional money the you would lose in court costs, attorneyfees and the costs involved in collecting the debt. Also,your "accomplice" could have a judgment entered against himor her.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you involve anotherperson in your asset protection strategy by "selling" themyour assets for a few dollars, the assets would legallybelong to the other person and they would be able to do whatthey want with those assets.

It has occurred only too often that the new recipient of theassets has turned around and handled the assets in a mannerthat benefits them, leaving the original owner with nothing.Even though you trust somebody today, you never know whatwill happen in the future. So, in this case we can say, "Letthe seller beware!"

One more point about "getting rid" of your assets throughsale to your spouse: In the United States, if you live in a"community property" state then everything that is owned byyou during the time of the marriage is also owned by yourspouse and vice-versa.

So, transferring ownership to a spouse in a "communityproperty" state does not help your asset protection strategyand does not protect you from creditors. The currentcommunity property states are: Arizona, California, Idaho,Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington andWisconsin.

One asset protection strategy that does work and has beenknown to work very well is offshore asset protection trustor APT.

Here the assets are protected from lawsuits because they arein oversea territories and therefore untouchable in mostcases. Of course, it is important to take note of applicablefraudulent transfer rules as well. As in most assetprotection strategies, timing is very important.

Another asset protection strategy that has been shown to bevery successful is offshore incorporation and offshore bankaccounts. There are many benefits for incorporatingoffshore. Legally limiting the amount of taxes you pay onyour income, and protecting your business against lawsuitsare just a few of the ways an offshore corporation or IBCcan benefit your asset protection efforts.

Forming an offshore corporation need not be any moreexpensive or time consuming than forming a corporationwithin your own country. Be sure to use a legitimate andestablished firm when setting up your IBC. Make sure yourasset protection needs are being handled in the way you wantand that you get answers to all your questions.

Keeping with the asset protection theme of protecting yourwealth from lawsuits, the offshore bank account will alsohelp address this issue. Most companies that offer offshoreincorporation will also help you set up an offshore bankaccount.

It would be a good idea to keep the account in non-US funds.The accounts are usually offered with an international debitcard, so you can access your funds from an ATM wherever youhave access to one.

In conclusion... Laws are different from country to country,and from state to state. You need to get professional advicefrom a competent financial advisor as the first move.

Do not wait until you are already in financial troublebecause then it would be too late. If you transfer assets inorder to put them out of reach of your creditors at thattime, it may be seen as fraudulent and illegal. You need tohave an asset protection strategy in place before you aresued, and before anyone tries to take your assets away.

It is never too early to get a plan in place. Just rememberthe old expression, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."Do it NOW!