Posted in Asset Protection,Probate & Trust Administration,Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning

Whenever discussing a client’s plan for addressing lifetime or death transfers (including an involuntary transfer or loss to a creditor), asset titling is critical and often the most overlooked aspect of developing a strategy.  The manner in which an asset is titled determines how it can be disposed of.  Recently, I encountered a married couple who thought their Wills and Trusts provided for their intent that each spouse receive the other’s property for life in trust after the first spouse’s death and then ultimately to their children from a prior marriage.  Come to find out, almost every asset was titled jointly or had a spousal beneficiary designation on it.  Thus, the asset would pass not pursuant to their Wills or Trusts on the first spouse’s demise but by per operation of law.  This is just one example of why asset titling is so important.
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Posted in Asset Protection,Business & Corporate Law

Many clients have questions about improving their credit post-bankruptcy.  A successful bankruptcy eliminates or discharges a debtor’s legal obligation to repay a debt.  However, it does not place an affirmative duty on a debtor’s creditors to remove any pre-bankruptcy non-payment history on credit reports.  In other words, a bankruptcy may clean up legal obligations, but it does not affect credit reports unless the creditor voluntarily corrects its reporting.  Experian, Transunion, and Equifax are the national credit reporting agencies.
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