San Diego Asset Protection

[Tim Ehlers]

Good morning all. I am looking to set up a couple of LLC's along with learning more about CA trusts. Can anyone recommend a real estate and/or asset protection attorney in the greater San Diego area? Thanks!

[Tim Ehlers]

@Gene Lee

As Tim G. mentioned, trusts only provide the anonymity but do not provide any asset protection. An LLC, when properly maintained, should provide you the protection you need to separate your personal assets from the ones with the LLC. It will need yearly maintenance including meeting minutes, operating agreements and a few other things in order to keep it up to date. Also, you need to be very careful that funds are not transferred incorrectly between personal and business, using business funds for personal use, etc. That is called piercing the corporate veil and can render the LLC useless. Just having an LLC and paying the $800 per year to keep it up do date does not protect you.

For me, I want to have my property management business in its own LLC (with a trust as the managing entity), my rehabbing business as a separate LLC (again within a trust) and then all of my properties that I take title to will be through a trust and then owned by the LLC. The reason for the trust is to keep my personal info off of public records and if I am doing any type of owner financing then it will help keep the sellers bank happy and hopefully reduce the risk of due-on-sale. So I am looking for the attorney to help me set up the trusts, LLC's and put together sales contracts, lease option agreements, subject-to and any other documents to make sure they are legal in California. I will also be a licensed salesperson so I want to make sure that all my t's are crossed so to speak.