Asset Protection Iron Triangle

Asset protection is not just for the wealthy any longer. When a middle class home can easily run a half million dollars in Florida, and over a million in New York or California, anyone can become a target of lawsuits, divorce courts, and the IRS.

You have to dig a well before you are thirsty, or in this case, build a legal fortress before invading barbarians reach your gate.

Your tools to protect your assets are:

* "no asset" corporation

* limited liability company (LLC)

* beneficiary controlled trust

C-Corp:

A "no asset" C corporation will be the management company for your LLC. The two work together to protect your property from those who would take it from you.

You are employed by the C Corp, not the LLC. You can also be the sole shareholder and hold all of the officer positions. Your corporation owns nothing but a checkbook.

Your corporation can pay for:

- medical insurance for the officers

- life insurance ($50 thousand limit)

- retirement plan

As an officer, you can be reimbursed for out-of-pocket medical expenses through a medical expense reinbursement plan (MERP).

Entertainment expenses directly related to the business can include:

- training expenses

- travel

- meals

- computer expenses

- phone expenses

- business gifts up to $25 per recipient

Never let your corporation pay for personal items. Commingling of funds could pierce the corporate veil and make you personally liable for corporate debts in the event of a judgment against the corporation.

This is just a partial list of deductions for your corporation. Consult your CPA or tax advisor for the latest changes in allowable deductions.

LLC:

Your limited liability company is where you earn your income. Your LLC should also own any vehicles, equipment, computers, copiers, printers, and real property.

You want your Operating Agreement to make your corporation the Manager of your LLC.

Your LLC should also pay the bulk of your operating expenses for your office, supplies, travel, fuel, utilities, phone, computers, and more.

Your interest in the LLC will be as a 99% member will be owned by the trust.

Beneficiary Controlled Trust:

A beneficiary controlled trust is the crown jewel of asset protection.

While I will not go into detail here, a BCT works like this:

Someone other than yourself establishes an irrevocable trust with you as the beneficiary and as the Investment Trustee. A second entity or person is required as the Distribution Trustee.

My company, Trustee and RA Services, Inc., can act as your Distribution Trustee if you want to keep your affairs private from your friends and relatives.

We are located in Coral Springs, Florida, and we usually situs the BCT in Florida to take advantage of Florida's excellent trust laws, as well as no state income tax.

The Grantor can put up to $12,000 per year into the trust without gift tax considerations, and you have an immediate right to withdraw the money as it is a Crummey defective grantor trust.

It's complicated, but the idea is to leave the assets in the trust and use the trust to own the LLC and to take care of your needs.

The trust can purchase property, pay for your education and medical expenses, and take care of your physical well-being. You have full control over the trust assets without actually owning anything.

As the Investment Trustee, you control how the assets are used, and you can replace the Distribution Trustee at any time.

We often refer to this as the CakeTrust, as in "have your cake and eat it too".

Summary:

You are now isolated from lawsuits, creditors, judgments, ex-spouses, and the IRS.

Choosing a Custom Kitchen Cabinet Design Firm

Can you imagine your kitchen, completely organized? And not just organized, but organized in a new and attractive way with a custom kitchen cabinet design. Whether your project is for custom kitchen cabinet design only or for an entire kitchen with custom kitchen cabinet design as well, you will find that the process isn't as painful as you have been expecting it to be. It doesn't have to be difficult when you decide to replace your old cabinets and kitchen with custom kitchen cabinet design.

For custom kitchen cabinet design projects, you should find a reputable custom kitchen cabinet design company that you feel comfortable working with. To find a company that is right for you, you can ask friends, family, and neighbors. If they have recently finished a kitchen-remodeling project, that can give you advice that may save you not only time, but money as well. You can learn a lot from other people's mistakes, so be sure, when you do pick a company you check their references and speak to satisfied customers before you begin.

You can also go to a local home improvement store when you can brush up on custom kitchen cabinet design terminology. You can also do your research online if you are pressed for time as many of us are these days. You can find out all you need to know about custom kitchen cabinet design when you search for information online.

You may decide to hire a professional such as a kitchen designer or an architect for your custom kitchen cabinet design. This can be ideal if you can afford it because with a professional, you will get the most out of your space in the most eye pleasing designs. A professional knows more than you do about the whole process and can steer you in the right direction. They can make your ideas a reality when you don't know how. You may know what you want, but when it comes to custom kitchen cabinet design, you have a hard time expressing exactly what you mean.

Take your time when you are looking for a professional or a custom kitchen cabinet design firm. You will be spending a lot of money for something you will have to live with for many years, so it is best to operate on the safe side, so you don't end up paying more than you have to for your custom kitchen cabinet design.

Basic Information About Retirement Communities

A retirement community also known as active adult community is a broad term that extends to wide range of housing for seniors as well as retirees. They are particularly designed for those who do not work again, or those who are within certain age range. Retirement communities are distinct from retirement homes which are usually small complex or single building that do not feature common areas for socializing. A lot of retirement communities are intended for that reason, and feature unique facilities that cater for the needs and wants of seniors or retirees. The unique facilities include varieties of amenities such as swimming pools, club-places, golf courses, boating, medical administration, arts and crafts and a host of others.

A community that is age-restricted needs that nothing less than one household resident be 55 years of age and above. Facilities for retirement purpose are usually situated in warm climate areas such as California, Texas and Arizona. However, retirement facilities are now built within and around main cities all through the nation presently.

Low-income residents obtaining a better combination of public services via a NORC model could be involved in Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities - NORC. They may provide for individuals of different income levels who converged to furnish low-cost transportation services. Also, some Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities are for moderately affluent households that may demand for a higher amount like 1,000 dollars or above in yearly dues. Rich wide range of support services as well as cultural enhancement activities are made available by paid and volunteer staffers.

A Short Story About Fighting For Fish - Reinventing The World

Max is passionate. He has the type of personality that one once thought all really wealthy people must have, part crazy and part genius, each part keeping the other under control. He tries to reinvent the world. He is the type of person that will not be contained or controlled. He is hard charging, aggressive, fearless, and sometimes stupid as a result. Yet still, he is one to admire.

He has no respect for rules or authority, though he has become an authority himself. "What are they going to do?" he would say. He has been shot at five times. He was hit only once...in the calf. He still got away from the shooter.

He was in the air force, and loved the exhilaration of flying. He would "push the envelope" in both the F-16 and his, much less equipped blue and tan private plane. He would do things in his small private plane about which other pilots would comment "The plane just wasn't built for that" as they shook their head and looked down towards the stable ground.

His theory of crossing streets is that if a car hit him, the collision with his soft and supple flesh would dent the car, and thus damage his aggressor. He would walk out into traffic, unafraid of the fast moving automobiles.

Max is a man of learning. Once at the age of 14 he read the encyclopedia straight through. He also put himself through college and law school.

Max's style of practicing the law is surely an aggressive one. He would fluster people. Max is a tall man with a good build. This, especially when he really gets going, is extremely intimidating. I have heard stories where he got a witnesses so flustered in cross-examination that when the witness was told to go back to his seat, he angrily stood up, pouting, and briskly walked directly into the wall behind them.

* * *

On one of his fishing trips Max got in a fight with nature. He went to a ranch in the Truchas peaks, at the base of the rocky mountains to catch his fish. The two day trip consisted of standing in the river, trying to reclaim his fly fishing line from a tree, diving on top of grasshoppers in order to use them as bait, sliding down a steep hill into the river, breaking branches off of trees to start a camp fire, having his tent collapse on him in the rain, catching several whoppers of fish, losing blood, and of course getting smelly.

At the end of the journey on his way home he stopped by the ranch house with the trout he had caught in a light blue cooler. He smelled of fish, smoke, dirt, grass, tree, mud, and rain. He was inside the immense, dark, creaky, and musty smelling ranch house when the dog of a ranch hand smelled the fish. Max was learning about how many coyotes were recently caught on the ranch when the dog cleverly discovered how to open the cooler. The dog started to eat the trout only when Max was on his way back out of the house.

Max was not pleased by the state of his hard won fish. He started yelling, whooping, and waving his arms around. The dog, confused by this, decided to move its meal to a quieter location. It pulled its ears back and looked at Max, completely confused as to why he was leaping around. The discovery of fresh fish was not a time to panic. The dog picked up the trout he was eating and started to turn around.

The dog was part dingo, from Australia. It would often try to follow people all over the ranch. It had a condensed build, one that could handle a lot of abuse without too much trouble. The dog's fur was a thick brown on the sides and head with touches of white on the back. Living on the ranch the brown faded to black, and the white to tan.

Max was not willing to let the fish go, and dove for it. The sliding caused dust to fly up into the air. The thick plume turned all the colors into pastels of brown, in the sharp New Mexican sun. When the dust finally cleared, Max lay belly to the ground, looking up at the dog. The dog looked down at Max, even more confused than before. At this point the dog realized that Max had the tail of its trout in his right hand. Max would not have eaten the fish now; it had dog slobber all over it. However, Max was willing to fight for the fish with all he had.

Both the dog and Max pulled on the fish. Neither Max nor the dog made progress, though both growled. After a short scuffle, the contenders were completely covered in a thin tan dust. Max was able to gain the upper hand by standing up. He then proceeded to lift the dog off the ground by lifting the fish. The dog flailed its legs about, as if it were running straight upwards, and defiantly growled as it dangled there, refusing to let go of the fish. Max took his other arm and put it around the dog. He held the fish in one hand and the dog in the other. Then Max whispered to the dog as he used his negotiation skills to get the dog to release the fish. The dog was not persuaded and made a powerful rebuttal by shaking its head vigorously.

This continued until one of the dog's legs got within pushing distance of Max's thigh. The dog placed his paw on Max's leg and pushed off with enough force to jump completely out of Max's arms. In flight, the dog was able to twist the fish out of Max's hand. Max was so surprised by the dog's move that he didn't react. He just stood there in the same position, arm still curled as if it held the dog, and hand still held out as if the fish remained in its grasp. The dog, however, miscalculated its landing and landed fish first, then nose, leaving a fin of dust over its landing strip.

The dog stood up, unwilling to accept that its fish now had rocks embedded in it, and marched off triumphantly. Max collected his remaining fish together, put them back in the cooler, and bought the dog.

What is Reverse Osmosis and What Does Reverse Osmosis Do?

What does reverse osmosis do? RO is a system typically used in order to filter out large volumes of water. This process is executed by sending the water under high pressure through a porous membrane filter. This process is able to remove contaminants as small as a grain of sand.

What is reverse osmosis primarily used for? It was originally designed at the turn of the century to help clean up the public water supply. Far too many people we're sick and dying due to the large number of waterborne parasites. It was not all that effective until the introduction of chlorine disinfection in 1908.

What does reverse osmosis do for us today? It is still utilized for water treatment, just as it was in the old days. Ro is at the center of virtually every public drinking water facilities efforts to bring us safer water. The job is just a lot tougher now, with thousands of new contaminants having been introduced into the water system over the years.

What is reverse osmosis used for otherwise? Ro serves many industrial purposes, for which it is well suited. Basically a de-mineralizing device, it has applications from car washes to photo development. Factories employ the system in order to keep mineral deposits from clogging and eroding their water bearing machinery, such as boilers.

What does reverse osmosis do differently now, than it did when it was invented? Surprisingly, RO hasn't advanced much technologically over the last hundred years. This doesn't really hurt its performance in the way of industry, as described above. The lack of growth has rendered it totally ineffective for drinking water treatment though.

An RO systems filter is incapable of blocking out any foreign substance with an equal or lesser molecular weight than that of the water carrying it. Most of the chemicals that pass through are liquids, and much of the bacteria that the filter encounters are of course, microscopic. These contaminants flow freely through the filters web.

What is reverse osmosis for the home? Can it do a better job? No, it cannot do a better job because it is based on the same flawed filtering design that the industrial scale models were. RO should just be the first step, in a multi layered filtering system designed to deal with these new contaminants. Instead, RO has been our only line of protection.

There are far better methods of protecting your home than by using an RO system. There are whole house water purifiers, or individual faucet and showerhead models available that are far superior to RO in both quality and performance. A good water purification system can remove absolutely all of the things that you need it to, and at a fraction of the price.

What does reverse osmosis do? If you're looking for safe, healthy drinking water, it does absolutely nothing.

Pedestrian Safety Tips

With the amount of negligent drivers on the road these days, it can be rather dangerous at times to be a pedestrian. Even the most alert pedestrian is somewhat at risk of being in an accident - whether it is due to a distracted driver or falling debris. As a pedestrian accident lawyer, I have seen how the busy, and sometimes run-down streets have led to high number of pedestrian injuries. To make things worse, pedestrian accidents tend to cause serious injury, as well as a fairly high fatality rate. While there are some accidents that simply cannot be avoided by a pedestrian, there are a number of things people can do to lower their risk of being involved in an accident.

The first step to reducing the risk of being in an accident is getting a better understanding of Washington pedestrian collisions. There were 1,786 pedestrian accidents in the state of Washington alone in 2009. Of these collisions, 287, or 1 in every 6, resulted in a serious injury. Even worse, 61 resulted in a pedestrian fatality. The background behind these statistics is what is most important, though. Some of the key factors involved in these collisions are the location of the road, the location on the road itself, and the age of the pedestrian. The statistics show overwhelming evidence that the majority of pedestrian collisions occur on city streets, in the intersection. Age also plays an important role, as 1 in every 3 pedestrian collisions involve a pedestrian between the ages of 10 and 24.When walking the streets of Seattle, Bellevue, or anywhere else in Washington that sees automobile traffic, it is important to follow the following tips to reduce the likelihood of being in an accident:

- Be aware of the rules of the road that you are on.

- Obey all traffic signs and signals.

- Look both ways when crossing the street. This has probably been beat into your head since you were young, but the vast majority of accidents occur in intersections. These can be avoided sometimes by looking both ways to see if there are any cars coming your way.

- Be aware of your surroundings. Not every pedestrian injury is caused by a car. Sometimes the street itself can be in bad shape and result in an injury. Always be on the lookout for bumps and holes on the street.

- Don't assume that drivers are paying attention. Let's face it; there are a lot of drivers out there that do not fully pay attention to the road. Even if you have the right of way in an intersection, make sure you see oncoming cars slow down before you cross.

- Avoid construction site areas. Construction site injuries happen more often than people think, and can injure unassuming pedestrians. If there is another way to walk to your destination, you should take it.

These tips can help lower your risk of injury, but accidents can still happen. If you happen to be involved in a pedestrian injury, be sure to call an experienced pedestrian accident lawyer. They can give you the advice you need on whether or not you have a case, and the steps to take if you do.

Distressed Property Offers Home Buyers Great Value

One man's problem could be another man's prosperity. For instance, the current housing market is witnessing an increase in the number of distressed homes for sale, opening up vast opportunities to the savvy buyer who takes full advantage of market conditions. A distressed property could be the best value for home buyers such as you while helping pressured owners become freed from a heavy burden. Let's take a look at what distressed properties are and what the benefits of buying such a home could be for you.

Home foreclosure rates are on the rise and not expected to drop anytime soon. Higher mortgage payments, increased fuel expenditures and other factors are pushing a larger number of homeowners into the distressed seller category. These other factors can include:

Divorce

Death

Poor Health

Job Loss

A Myriad of Other Reasons

Together, once dutiful home owners are finding it difficult if not impossible to keep up with their mortgage payments. Therefore, within a three to four months timeframe a homeowner could see their home foreclosed.

One way that distressed property owners can avoid foreclosure is to attempt to sell their home before things totally spiral out of their control. In a soft real estate market, a distressed homeowner could find themselves selling a home for a price well below its value. However, this could still be an attractive option for the seller as the responsibility for paying for the house would be removed from their hands. For the buyer, a distressed home means paying less than market value and gaining a home that they possibly could not have been able to afford under normal market conditions.

In most cases distressed property isn't the same as a fixer-upper but it could be. Likely, the current owner had been keeping up with maintenance, but recently fell upon hard times that have triggered the "sell now, before foreclosure later" action on their part. If the home has been neglected all along, a distressed property may not be the value you think that it could be especially if much needed repairs must be done. If that should be the case, your so-called "deal" could end up being no deal at all.

A distressed property seller may be more receptive to allowing you to pay a reduced price for their home if you negotiate the deal apart from a realtor. Usually, this type of seller is featuring their home on a For Sale By Owner {FSBO} site in the hopes of saving themselves the cost of realtor fees.

When dealing with a distressed property seller, sympathy and understanding on your part can go a long way toward clinching the deal. Chances are the current owner is embarrassed about their financial plight and doesn't want to be too forthcoming about what lead up to their current troubles. Be prepared to close on the deal as soon as possible, therefore a pre-approval letter from a respected mortgage lender is essential to helping you secure the distressed property.

Self Directed IRA May Be the Most Effective Retirement Plan For You

People who are looking forward to their retirement years are continuously searching for the most efficient and profitable retirement plan for them. You may be one of those, who are still puzzled on what to choose, especially if you find the different kinds of individual retirement accounts to be lucrative in some way of another. Have you taken a good look on Self directed IRA? If not, then you should check-out this IRA account, since this retirement plan may provide you with numerous advantages, which you may not acquire in other types of individual retirement accounts.

So how can you apply and eventually open a Self directed IRA? The foremost step that you must carry out so you can have your self directed account is to consult a custodian, who can help you in your dealings. One of the most significant components that may affect the end result of your retirement planning is your relationship with your custodian. The key to successful business transactions is good working relationship, since your custodian will accomplish all the paperwork and will later purchase the investments you want to get hold of. You must try to look for a custodian that is familiar with self directed retirement accounts.

After hiring a good custodian, you can now rollover your funds into a self-directed IRA. This requirement most of the time completely become accomplished for about eight to ten days, after which, you can verify and check what particular businesses you want to invest your money in. To avoid any problem in the future, it is best if you always confer with the list of allowed investments before you decide to release some funds. The real estate has been perceived as one of the most profitable kinds of retirement investing options, which you can obtain through your self-directed IRA.

The next thing that you should do is to diversify and manage your portfolio of assets. When you are on your retirement stage already, you should appropriately recognize that your goal of making money is not anymore an option; instead you should focus more on maintaining your investments, resources and assets. This is also the best time for you to close your high-risks businesses and transfer your money in low-risks investments such as stocks, bonds and certificates of deposit. Though, the generation of money through these investment options is not very lucrative, the rates of return of these assets are secured and stable.

If you open a self directed IRA, you can take advantage of choosing your preferred investment from the variety of the businesses available. You will also have the full responsibility and management of your assets, which can provide you the possibility of increased IRA diversification. Another good thing is that, you can open an IRA together with 401(k) plan, 403(b) account, employee-sponsored pension accounts and other retirement investing plans.

Craft Brews Defined

Craft beer is a part of history every bit as much as it is the new thing sweeping the nation. The irony is that craft beer isn't new at all. It was just recently defined and now it's a buzz word because many of the home brewers find themselves in a nationally recognized brewing category.

But, the fact of the matter is that craft beer has gone through its own historical changes just like everything else. A few centuries ago, each town had its own brewery or they carted brew in from a town next door. Then of course, as in all things, someone gets the bright idea to mass produce beer and sell it to everyone for less than what the craft breweries could.

Cost effectiveness comes with mass production. When you have tons of supplies onboard and can produce beer day and night in mass quantities, then ship it out to all the major cities and all the pubs across the nation are stocking it, you can run the prices down and craft beers become obsolete. So, how have they managed to stay in business throughout the centuries?

You are always going to have your beer enthusiasts who want a taste of something new, something different, something distinct. Mass production of beer has to satisfy the majority appeal. It has to be made mainstream so that everyone likes it. But, there isn't anything distinct about it because then you run the chance of a majority of beer drinkers not liking it.

So, craft beer has survived. It is not new. But, it feels new because now it's in a nationally recognized market as a cause of its growth. More and more pubs are stocking craft beers. Microbreweries and brewpubs are popping up all over the place. Contract breweries are filling more orders. Regional breweries are getting more attention. Thus, craft beer is actually starting to get more attention than traditional brewing companies that have stood the test of time.

What defines craft beer is actually several things. The first thing is the amount of beer that is brewed yearly, and this is where all home brewers get their first distinction. A craft brewer produces 6,000,000 barrels of beer or less a year. Anything more than that and you are considered a large brewery.

The next item gives the home brewer its second distinction, a craft brewer is independent. That means that the brewer itself has most of the ownership, thereby having all of the control. Home brewers have all the control, thereby fulfilling the second criteria. The final criteria is that the brewer must have an all malt beverage as its flagship, which means that is has an all malt beverage that represents the most volume of all of its brands. Of course, unless the home brewer is making more cider or wine than he is beer, then he is a craft beer brewer.

Obviously, each criterion has specifics that needed laid out in full detail because of the complexity between different breweries and what constitutes an actual craft beer. But, I'm taking broad strokes here as they apply to the home brewer. The home brewer can now feel confident as he walks among other brewers because now he has a distinction and a market.

Don't hesitate to find your taste and chase it! Brew your beer until you finally find the one you like or several you prefer. Put them in shows and take them to your local bar. Let them stock it and give your locals a taste of what you can do. That's the way it's done. That's the way it has always been done. Nothing has changed!