ASSET PROTECTION
Trusts are a great vehicle for protecting your assets from creditors. Utah now has one of the best asset protection statutes in the United States. Although rules about fraudulent transfers prohibit you for transferring assets to a trust if you are already being sued or need the assets to meet your current debt obligations, you can protect your assets from future lawsuits or creditors by establishing an asset protection trust.
Even greater than the creditor protection you can obtain for yourself is the protection you can provide to your heirs. When you leave assets to heirs in trust instead of outright, the assets continue to be protected from their creditors, including an ex-spouse if there is a divorce. Leaving assets to your own spouse in trust can also protect her from "money diggers". It is also a way to insure that after you're gone, your assets ultimately go to your children and heirs rather than to your surviving spouse's next spouse and new step-children whom you never knew.
Even greater than the creditor protection you can obtain for yourself is the protection you can provide to your heirs. When you leave assets to heirs in trust instead of outright, the assets continue to be protected from their creditors, including an ex-spouse if there is a divorce. Leaving assets to your own spouse in trust can also protect her from "money diggers". It is also a way to insure that after you're gone, your assets ultimately go to your children and heirs rather than to your surviving spouse's next spouse and new step-children whom you never knew.