Florida’s Homestead Law

by Stephen Speiser, Esq.The Speiser Law Firm P.A. Florida’s homestead exemption is one of the most powerful asset protection laws available anywhere in the United States.  Moreover, it is not just statutory law:  It is written into the Constitution of the State of Florida.  That makes Florida’s homestead law a constitutional right.   Article 10, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution provides that an unsecured creditor …

The Mireva Invasion

Are Mireva Rulings Coming to the United States? Readers of our website know that we have written extensively about the Mareva ruling, a form of ex parte preliminary injunction increasingly granted by courts outside the USA to freeze debtor assets. A 2021 Florida state court decision has created a great deal of unease among debtors’ representatives concerning the reach of …

Asset Protection: Foundations versus Trusts

From time to time, we are asked about using foundations as a substitute for asset protection trusts. In our judgment, there is no substitute for a competent, well crafted trust. This does not mean, however, that foundations should not be used in asset protection planning. For clients with charitable goals and objectives, foundations provide an excellent vehicle to satisfy those …

When In Rome… How the Location of Assets Affects Asset Protection Planning

The location of particular assets affects the law governing those assets and your ability to protect those assets from unanticipated creditors

Is All Asset Protection Planning Bad Under the UVTA?

A state’s enactment of a DAPT law should be regarded as the state legislature’s expression per se “actual intent” under the UVTA not be imputed in any form of asset protection planning.  While this is an incredibly broad inference, it reflects the reality that DAPTs do not exist in a vacuum.

When Is An “Offshore” Asset Protection Plan Not Really Offshore?

There are three basic elements of a true “offshore” asset protection plan: (i) the legal structure (trust or business entity) must be formed outside the U.S. in a safe jurisdiction; (ii) the assets have been successfully migrated to the offshore legal structure; and (iii) legal control of the structure must be vested in persons or trustees who are not subject to U.S. jurisdiction.