Asset Protection: What A Client Can Do To Protect Themselves

A client might want to consider the following items to ensure that his or her assets are protected from attacks by others.

• A client might want to structure loans by securing the debt with assets.
• A client might also want to gift before accepting a position that could expose himself to liability. However, from a Canadian perspective, a client definitely does not want to gift an asset when that client owes the Canadian Revenue Agency.
• A client might also want to take advantage of corporation structures that are designed to protect a person’s assets from creditors.
• A client might not want to guarantee the debts of others, and should be wary of positions that would expose the client to liability.
• Regardless of whether a client does accept a position of a director, a client might want to consider purchasing liability insurance.
• Also, a client might definitely want to seek professional help when it comes to protecting his or her assets.

See Tim Cestnick, Eight Ways To Protect Your Assets, The Globe and Mail, July 4, 2012.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.