Asset Protection Seminar

The American Bar Association Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law and the ABA Center for Continuing Legal Education is sponsoring a teleconference and live audio webcast on February 6, 2007 entitled What Estate Planners Need to Know About Asset Protection. 

Here is a description of the program:

Could the estate planning structures you draft be pierced by your client’s creditors?

Estate planning strategies and structures that have been used successfully for years are suddenly being compromised under circumstances that historically have been viewed as protected by  estate planning practitioners.  Creditors, divorce courts, the IRS and even bankruptcy trustees have developed strategies to pierce and, in some cases, disregard estate planning structures despite the protection granted in a beneficiary’s interest in such spendthrift trusts by statute or case law in every state. 

Despite state law or governing documents expressly limiting the rights of third party claimants, recent bankruptcy cases have allowed a bankruptcy trustee to assume all the benefits of a bankrupt partner or member.

After listening to this program and reviewing the accompanying course materials, you will be able to:

• Identify the estate planning structures at risk and the reasons why they have been pierced or disregarded by courts despite state law protecting a beneficiary’s interest in a spendthrift trust
• Appreciate the risk that creditors of a beneficiary/sole trustee may be able to reach the trust assets
• Understand why it is more important than ever to educate your clients and their intended beneficiaries about these risks and the ways to avoid them
• Explain how bankruptcy trustees have been able to assume all the benefits of a bankrupt partner or member despite state law or the entity’s governing documents clearly limiting the trustee’s or creditor’s interest to that of an assignee
• Develop planning and drafting strategies that can be used to help prevent creditors or bankruptcy trustees from becoming unwelcome guests in your FLP or FLLC