Top Philadelphia, PA Asset Protection Lawyers Near You

Are You Considering Creating and Asset Protection Trust?

If you need to protect your assets from overreaching creditors, you may want to hire A Philadelphia attorney to set up an asset protection trust for you. Such trusts are not permitted in every state and to be valid the trust must meet specific guidelines. An attorney skilled in creating these trusts can advise you on their legality and prepare a trust to meet your needs.

Trusts Can Shield Assets From Creditors

An asset protection trust is a device that separates a person's liability from certain assets from his or her benefit from the assets. The trust serves to shield assets from creditors or from valuation in a divorce case. Because the protection of the trust makes it more difficult for creditors to collect debts, only a few states allow asset protection trusts. A lawyer familiar with such trusts, their benefits and limitations, can set up the trust within the parameters of the law and ensure your assets are protected.

Best Time to Seek Legal Help

No matter what your legal issue may be, it is always best to seek legal help early in the process. An attorney can help secure what is likely to be the best possible outcome for your situation and avoid both unnecessary complications or errors.

Tips on Approaching an Initial Attorney Consultation

• Use the consultation as a means of gaining a better understanding of your legal situation.
• Ask the attorney how many cases similar to yours he/she has handled. An attorney's experience and knowledge can speak to their expertise (or lack of) in addressing your situation.
• Your attorney should be able to articulate roughly how long a case like yours will take to resolve and what sort of procedures to expect.
• Determine how comfortable you are working with the lawyer and/or law firm.

How will an attorney charge me?

A reputable attorney will be very upfront about how he/she will charge you. The three most common fee structures that attorneys use to charge for their services are:

• Bill by the hour
• Contingent fee agreement
• Flat fee agreement

Depending on your specific legal situation, it's possible that only one type of fee structure is available. For instance, criminal defense attorneys almost always bill by the hour. In a flat fee arrangement, an attorney accepts a one-time payment to help you resolve your issue. With a contingent fee agreement, the client pays little to nothing upfront and the attorney receives a percentage of the money recovered if you win your case.