Mark J. Kohler, an attorney and small-business owner, outlines four asset protection principles: avoid scams and get a second opinion from a local lawyer, honestly assess your own assets and exposure, establish foundational safeguards like corporate minutes and homestead exemptions, and consider sophisticated options like charging-order protection entities and domestic asset protection trusts if you have substantial assets.
Chapters
Hi, Mark Kohler here with another two minute tax and legal tip. As a small business owner, myself, an average American, I know how important it is to protect our assets and how scary it is they might be threatened by a lawsuit. I want to share four principles that you can start using right now to better protect your assets. Number one, watch out for the myths and the scams out there. There's all these fly by night companies out there that are selling these elaborate structures calling you from a call center, selling usually entities from Nevada or Wyoming and promising to hide your assets. Please get a second opinion. Work with a nationwide lawyer or a lawyer in your backyard that can tailor an asset protection plan to you. Number two, take a hard look at your assets and review your risks. So many people get anxious and excited about asset protection when they really don't have that many assets or the need to do asset protection. Now, a little bit of good asset protection principles are always important, but again, don't overdo it. Look at your assets, what your risks are and then tailor your plan to your particular situation. Not everybody needs the same plan. Number three, start with the basics. There's things you can do as a small business owner with your entity right off the bat. Make sure that your minutes are up to date and that means an LLC or a corporation. You should have an operating agreement, bylaws, corporate book. Don't think that one sheet of paper oh, I filed online is good enough. Good luck in court. Know what your tenancy by the entirety exemption is in your state, your homestead exemption, and how your retirement plan fits into your asset structure. All these little things can be extremely affordable and easy to implement. Number four, look at the cutting edge strategies. If you have the assets and need them, there's some great strategies out there. Think of COPES or charging order protection entities. Look at a multi entity structure where maybe you do use another state entity in your plan. Three, look at dapps. Oh I love domestic asset protection trusts for protecting your home, a ranch, cabin, a farm. They're incredible. And I've got little videos on all these different strategies and there's so much you can study up on. Finally, just know that asset protection works and it's for real. There are so many great strategies out there you can learn about. Follow me on my social media channels, check out my other YouTube videos and give me a like or a follow. There's so much to learn and I promise I'll be there. Along your way to better living your American dream, SA.
