The asset protection trust is more accurately called the Domestic Asset Protection Trust or “DAPT.” It is a highly protective, irrevocable trust and less than 20 states even allow them. Utah is one of the! Assets owned by this kind of trust can be protected from lawsuits, debt collection, judgments, bankruptcies and even divorce.

This is a different kind of trust than the family trust. In the family trust, you leave your assets to beneficiaries, like your children. In the DAPT, you actually leave the assets to yourself as beneficiary! That means they are still your assets; but they receive the protection as if you’ve already given them to someone else. That’s the key difference. However, it’s not for everyone.

First, this is a complicated and detailed trust. It’s usually more expensive to create and maintain than the other two types of trusts. Second, while you do have access to the income from trust assets, you cannot take “regular” distributions. So, if you need that income to live on and pay monthly bills, you can’t put those assets in this trust. There are also restrictions on who can authorize the permitted distributions.

But, if you have substantial assets that you’d like to protect, you should at least discuss the details with an asset protection attorney. That is the best way to determine if this kind of asset protection tool works for you. And again, I have free educational materials on this trust and the other on our website. Or give me a call and I am happy to discuss of these trust with you.

Jeffrey S. Breglio, Esq.
Breglio Law Office and REI Mastery U
www.reimasteryu.com
jeff@bregliolaw.com
(801) 560-2180