Protecting Our Clients And Their Legacy Since 1991
Asset Protection for Professionals and Business Owners in Texas
Petrosewicz Law Firm, P.C. assists clients in Fort Bend County, Texas and throughout the Houston–Fulshear–Sugar Land-Needville Metropolitan Area
Asset protection planning involves making prudent decisions today to protect yourself, your business, and your hard-earned assets from loss due to lawsuits, creditors or bankruptcies. Asset protection planning is especially prudent for professionals and business owners, whose personal assets could be at risk due the nature of their employment.
Statistically and anecdotally, we all know that the number of divorces, lawsuits and bankruptcies is staggering. While no one believes lightning will strike them, wealth created through a lifetime of work, saving and investing can be lost overnight if these forms of man-made lightning do strike. To protect your assets from such disaster, proper risk management strategies should be given careful consideration. These strategies include exempting your assets from the claims of creditors, limiting your liability through legal entities, and transferring your risk through insurance.
Exempting Assets in Texas
State and federal laws exempt some of your assets from the claims of creditors. Important to note is that while some states allow you to choose either the state or federal exemptions, in others you must use the state exemptions … and federal bankruptcy exemptions are not available.
Once you have identified the protected asset classes available to you under applicable law, it may be prudent to maximize your protection by converting non-exempt assets into exempt assets.
Limiting Liability for Professionals & Business Owners
Many entrepreneurs operate their businesses as sole proprietors rather than through a legal entity, such as a Corporation or a Limited Liability Company. Whether their business is home-based or in the Fortune 500, these business owners are attracted by the informality of sole proprietorship. They also do not want to incur legal fees to create and maintain a legal entity. However, in addition to other advantages, conducting business through a legal entity may offer substantial risk management benefits.
While lawsuits brought against a sole proprietorship are really lawsuits against the owner’s personal assets, lawsuits against a properly created and maintained legal entity are really lawsuits against the entity’s assets. Nevertheless, the selection of an appropriate legal entity is critical for managing your risk.
Transferring Risk with Insurance
When was the last time you reviewed the details of your liability insurance program with your insurance professionals? Are your policies current? Are the coverage limits adequate and are the deductibles reasonable? Have you scrutinized the policies for loopholes? Remember: the fundamental philosophy of any insurance coverage is to pay a premium you can afford to transfer a risk you cannot afford. During your asset protection planning, take time to understand both the risks you have retained and the risks you have transferred.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.
Probate
Probate and estate administration are the processes through which estate assets are transferred after death. Assets to be transferred under terms of a will go through probate.
There are many legal strategies involved in estate planning, including wills, revocable living trusts, irrevocable trusts, durable powers of attorney, and health care documents.
Finding and affording quality care on short notice can be stressful and draining. We can help you determine the best options for care and how to qualify for Medicaid to help finance them.
“We are so grateful for the recommendation to contact Petrosewicz Law Firm, PC to get us through our overwhelming situation. Norma was extremely helpful and patient in outlining our different options and answering the many questions we had. She was able to make comp licated scenarios easy to understand. Eventually we decided on what we wanted and Norma took the initiative and was very proactive navigating us through the whole process, making sure we completed/submitted everything, and taking care of any/all loose issues. She is very smart and also has a sense of humor, which is great when you're dealing with stressful situations.
Her group is highly professional and always friendly, answered any questions we had and any problems were brought to resolution with no delays. We will definitely keep in touch with Norma for any future issues that may come. Thank you Norma for all you and your group did for us.”
“Now that we have completed our estate planning, we wanted to thank you and your team for the exceptional work. Your patient, extensive time spent counseling us on smart options was most astute and creative. We also appreciated Benecia Flores’ patient tutoring in what the documents meant. The legal-speak can be confusing, and you both helped us understand not just the "what" but also the "why" of our documents and planning. Elizabeth Hernandez orchestrated the meetings, document signing and final deliverables ever so efficiently! Thank you all for your support.”
“Norma is kind, professional, and takes her time with her clients. She is willing to listen and has her clients' best interest at heart. I highly recommend her estate planning service.”
“We could not have been more satisfied with our estate planning experience. Norma is extremely knowledgeable and was very thorough in helping us understand the process and our options. She and her staff are professional, friendly and a delight to work with in every way. We give them our highest recommendation.”
“Jamie and I had the opportunity to use Norma for our family trust. She is very knowledgeable and can put your mind at ease. Our situation was very complicated in my opinion. We both finished knowing that we had made the right decisions. We both highly recommend her for estate planning.”
“Professional estate planning law office with a very friendly staff. Norma Petrosewicz is extremely knowledgeable on estate planning. So glad we used her to help with our wills. Highly recommend her for your estate planning.”
“From our very first Estate Planning session with Norma Petrosewicz, she made us feel so comfortable and at ease and yet confident in her being able to accomplish all our Estate goals. Norma has a unique ability to make her clients feel like they have been friends for a long time. Norma and her entire staff are very knowledgeable and capable of answering any questions a client might have. We have and will continue to recommend Norma to our family and friends because of the very positive experience we had.”
“Norma was invaluable in helping our family through the emotional task of probating my husband’s will. She along with her team were very professional, thorough and always kept us informed while walking us through the process with patience and compassion. Norma answered our questions, no matter how trivial and educated us on matters that allowed us as a family to make the best, informed decisions. I also feel a great relief in knowing that my estate planning is in complete order too.”
“When faced with family estate [ will ] planning and how to get things done so all issues are properly addressed, and loved ones are not left with that task at a very difficult time, it can feel like, and it is a daunting and emotional task.
My husband and I were very fortunate to be referred to the Petrosewicz Law Firm. Norma and her staff have walked us through every single small detail, of the different options and advantages to each option. To have such in depth knowledge, expertise and assistance at one’s disposal, of not only the legal but the accounting side makes a huge difference in all the planning and peace of mind. The Petrosewicz Law Firm has made the experience of estate planning a clear and painless process.
We highly recommend the Petrosewicz Law Firm to anyone trying to get “their house in order” without being overwhelmed by the entire process while receiving invaluable support along the way.”
