Domestic planning that shields wealth from creditors and litigation through trust structures, partnerships, and profession-specific strategies, all formed under established U.S. legal frameworks and integrated with your estate plan.
Asset protection is preventive work. Investments, cash equivalents, real estate, and personal property can all be put at risk in a lawsuit, and how those assets are held and transferred decides what survives one. The structure has to be planned before any threat appears.
Domestic structures do that work under familiar U.S. legal frameworks, with established precedents and reliable court systems behind them. A domestic asset protection trust (DAPT), a family limited partnership, and a profession-specific strategy all follow the same discipline: identify the exposures, choose the right vehicles, and put them in place while no dispute is on the horizon. Timing matters, because transfers made too late or with intent to hinder a known creditor can be unwound as fraudulent transfers.
Done well, domestic asset protection brings corporate and trust law, tax considerations, and estate planning together in one plan. It costs less and is easier to manage than offshore alternatives, and it keeps your wealth defensible now and later.
Design and formation of irrevocable trusts intended to shield assets from future creditors while preserving certain benefits for the grantor, formed under the state law that fits your circumstances.
Tax-aware family partnerships that hold and protect assets across generations while supporting estate-planning goals and creditor protection.
Irrevocable trusts that let beneficiaries benefit from assets ahead of inheritance while protecting those assets against creditors and addressing estate-tax exposure.
Strategies for physicians, dentists, and other healthcare providers who carry heavy malpractice exposure, separating the liability-generating practice from personal and investment assets.
Protection plans for real estate investors and landlords that use trusts, partnerships, and corporate structures to contain premises and tenant liability away from other holdings.
Entity selection and governance structuring for LLCs, holding companies, and related entities, organizing ownership in a way that limits exposure and supports the broader protection plan.
Coordination of asset protection vehicles with wills, trusts, and wealth-transfer strategies so a single, consistent plan serves both creditor protection and your estate goals.
Representation when protected assets are challenged, defending the integrity of properly formed structures and advising on exposure when a dispute or creditor claim arises.
Domestic structures operate under U.S. law with established precedents and reliable court systems, which makes their treatment more predictable than offshore alternatives.
Domestic vehicles generally carry lower setup and maintenance costs and offer easier management of and access to assets than international structures.
Trusts, family limited partnerships, and corporate entities are often combined; the right mix depends on the assets and how the plan integrates with estate planning.
Protection works when it is put in place well before any threat emerges. Transfers made too late, or against a known creditor, can be challenged as fraudulent transfers.
Healthcare providers, real estate owners, and business owners face different exposures, and an effective plan answers those specific risks rather than applying a template.
The same vehicles often serve both creditor protection and wealth transfer, so coordinating the two keeps the overall structure consistent and easier to maintain.
We map what a plaintiff could reach, from practice liability and premises risk to guarantees and jointly titled assets, and run a solvency analysis so every later transfer can be shown to have left you able to pay foreseeable creditors. That record is the plan's first line of defense.
We choose the governing state whose DAPT statute, limitations period, and exception-creditor rules fit your facts, then layer the architecture: which assets go to the trust, which into an FLP or LLC, and which stay deliberately outside as visible net worth.
The trust is executed with a qualified in-state trustee, assets are retitled and appraised, and the statutory clock starts running against future challenge. Funding is staged and documented, because a DAPT is only as strong as the paper trail behind each transfer.
Annual reviews keep distributions, trustee independence, and entity formalities clean so the structure does not invite an alter-ego attack. If a claim ever arrives, the same partner who built the plan defends it, with the seasoned record already in hand.
A trust funded before any claim exists has the statute of limitations on its side.
A domestic asset protection trust is an irrevocable trust formed under U.S. law to shield assets from future creditors while allowing the grantor to retain certain benefits from the trust property. DAPTs operate within familiar domestic legal frameworks, with established precedents and reliable court systems, which is why some clients prefer them to offshore structures. The protection a DAPT offers depends heavily on how and when it is created, the state law selected, and the assets transferred into it, so the structure should be designed and funded with professional guidance.
Domestic structures operate under U.S. legal frameworks with established precedents and reliable court systems, and they generally involve lower setup and maintenance costs and easier management and access to assets than offshore structures. International planning can offer different advantages but adds cost, complexity, and U.S. reporting obligations. Many clients use domestic structures as the foundation of a plan and consider international options only where their circumstances justify the added complexity.
Asset protection has to be in place well before any legal threat emerges. The timing and structure of these arrangements matter because transfers made after a claim arises or with intent to hinder a known creditor can be unwound as fraudulent transfers. Planning early, while no dispute is on the horizon, gives a structure its strongest footing.
Domestic asset protection uses several vehicles, often in combination: domestic asset protection trusts, family limited partnerships, pre-inheritance and other irrevocable trusts, and corporate or LLC entities. The right mix depends on the assets involved, since business interests, investments, real estate, and personal property each call for different treatment, and on how the plan integrates with estate planning.
Yes. Physicians, dentists, and other healthcare providers concerned with malpractice risk, and real estate investors and landlords exposed to premises and tenant claims, carry heavy liability exposure and usually need a plan written around those specific risks. The plan can combine trusts, partnerships, and corporate structures to separate liability-generating activities from personal and investment assets.
Asset protection and estate planning belong in one integrated plan. Many of the same vehicles, among them irrevocable trusts, family limited partnerships, and entity structures, serve both creditor protection and wealth-transfer goals. Coordinating the two helps a plan safeguard assets during your lifetime and pass them on the terms you intend, while keeping the overall structure consistent and easier to maintain.
Foreign corporate and trust structures for enhanced privacy and diversification, with full U.S. reporting and IRS compliance.
Explore →Tax-aware family partnerships that protect assets across generations while supporting estate-planning and creditor-protection goals.
Explore →Strategies for healthcare providers, real estate owners, and business owners who face heavy liability exposure.
Explore →Self-insurance structures that provide asset-protection benefits while maintaining operational control, structured for compliance.
Explore →Reviewed by Jonathan D. Herpy, Sr., Senior Partner · Last updated October 2026 · Educational overview · Not legal advice
One partner is accountable for the whole matter, and you have that partner's direct line. Chicago, London, and Dubai work to the same standard.