He'll be pulling W-2s for management and bookkeeping hours worked at night for running the operations entity.The goal is to provide just enough plan contributions to breach the significant and recurring threshold while minimizing exposure to self-employment taxes.  

The Warranty Deed will still be titled in the trust name, however exposure to the beneficiaries and their equity will be exposed, The banking system is tied to the Federal Reserve who is tied to the IRS.

I agree, it is exposure and resources.

(an investor who only buys and sells in US markets has very little exposure to foreign exchange, so the fluctuation of the US Dollar may go unnoticed to you.)Back to my point... the value of the US Dollar rises and falls, but the paper it is printed on wears out and must eventually be taken out of circulation and replaced by another bill.

@Matthew Charron SFR's are a great launching pad to get started as your exposure to tenant issues are restricted to one leaseholder.  

You didn't skip over the couple with the baby and take the two "singles" who are doing an apartment share because you didn't want to deal with possible lead paint exposure down the line.

That is, if litigation is brought regarding one property, you want to limit the exposure faced by the rest of your portfolio.

How can I structure my business to reduce exposure to lawsuits?  

I'd invest the retirement funds in stocks and bonds - REITS if I must have more RE exposure...If you are interested in asset protection, note that some states protect 401-k funds differently than other assets, including IRAs.

You really get exposure to everything, but more importantly you understand how it impacts the money.