When you are in a high-profile profession—doctor, attorney, business owner—you have a lot to lose. Being in your position, you are a high liability target for lawsuits and claims. No one wants to lose their treasure.
There is a relatively new advantage on the field though, with the capability of protecting your assets better than previous methods. A legal lockbox for your treasure, this protection is called a Domestic Asset Protection Trust (DAPT). It is still so new, it remains untested in some States who have not yet written laws to govern DAPTs. You are able to establish a DAPT in one of 16 States that allow them. The potential benefits of these Trusts definitely warrant a second look from you and your attorney.
The DAPT Basics
A Domestic Asset Protection Trust is a particular type of Trust that is carefully designed to protect a portion of a person’s assets from creditors and lawsuits. At the same time, a DAPT makes sure those same assets can be used to support the creator of the Trust, who is known as the settlor or grantor.
Protecting one’s assets in this way has not always been possible. Traditionally, you could create a Trust for the benefit of someone else, such as a child, and protect those assets from his or her creditors, but you could not do the same for yourself. Historically, if your Trust could be used to support you, your creditors could dig into it as well.
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