Purchase liability and errors and omission insurance.
Depending on the state where you reside, you may be able to shield assets from creditors by repositioning investments into accounts and assets that provide for your retirement and housing such as a pension plan, IRA, tax-deferred annuity or your home.
Place your personal assets in trust for your spouse or child. Under this arrangement you will have to divest yourself of control over those assets and income earned by them. This could cause problems in the event of divorce and could result in a gift tax liability if assets are placed in trust for the children.
Transfer personal assets to a domestic family limited partnership that is then transferred to a foreign jurisdiction family trust.
Under this arrangement you transfer assets to a limited partnership in exchange for a one percent general partnership interest. The general partnership interest allows you to control the management of the partnership. The other 99 percent ownership is transferred to a domestic family limited partnership or a foreign jurisdiction family trust. The laws of many foreign countries are much more favorable in shielding assets from claims of creditors and, in most cases, bar creditors from impounding trust assets. The cost of establishing these arrangements range from $15,000 to $25,000. Annual offshore trust fees range from $1,000 to $2,500. Other costs include tax preparation fees for the partnership and trust tax returns, and state transfer and recording fees.
Consider establishing an ancillary retirement plan trust where the foreign trustee can manage your IRA and other retirement plans if necessary. You may need to amend your plan documents to allow for the ancillary or additional trustee.
If you are about to inherit property that you think will be seized by your creditors, consider disclaiming your interest in the property within 9 months of the date of death of the person passing the property to you. Most states prevent creditors from seizing property that you have disclaimed. Be sure not to receive any income from the property or have any control over it. IRC 2518
