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Boyd & Boyd, P.C.

ASSET PROTECTION FOR YOU AND THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE.

A lawsuit. A business obligation. An heir’s financial difficulties. Different risks call for different protections. Understand which tools fit your assets, your family, and your need for access and control.

Asset Protection Planning uses lawful ownership arrangements, insurance, statutory exemptions, business entities, and Trusts to reduce exposure to creditor claims and other financial risks. It considers both the assets you own today and the inheritance you intend to leave. The right plan starts with the risk—not the name of a document.

Explore Domestic Asset Protection Trusts, Family Limited Partnerships, Family LLCs, inheritance Trusts, insurance, and legal exemptions. Protection for you and protection for your heirs require different analysis.

Choose a question. The cards below will adapt to the concern you select.

YOUR QUESTION, ANSWERED

You Worked to Build It. What Could Put It at Risk?

Asset Protection Planning uses lawful ownership arrangements, insurance, statutory exemptions, business entities, and Trusts to reduce exposure to creditor claims and other financial risks. It considers both the assets you own today and the inheritance you intend to leave. The right plan starts with the risk—not the name of a document.

A claim arising from a rental property, a business obligation, a personal lawsuit, and an heir’s financial difficulties create different problems. Planning should identify who could face the claim, what property could be exposed, and which tools fit that exposure.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR FAMILY

Your retirement security. The property you built. The business supporting your family. The inheritance you want a child to benefit from for years. These priorities give Asset Protection Planning its purpose.

The goal is to reduce avoidable exposure while balancing access, control, taxes, administration, and cost. No arrangement makes every asset immune from every claim.

A REAL CASE. A PLANNING LESSON.

In Clark v. Rameker (2014), the United States Supreme Court held that an inherited IRA did not qualify for the federal bankruptcy exemption for “retirement funds.” The account had once been retirement savings. After inheritance, its legal treatment was different.

This was a public court case, not a Boyd & Boyd, P.C. client matter. It does not mean every inherited IRA is unprotected under every state’s law. It illustrates why you should examine protection for the person who receives the wealth—not assume your protection follows the money.

YOUR NEXT STEP

You do not need to choose a DAPT, Partnership, LLC, or Trust before calling. Start with what you want to keep available for your family and the risks that concern you.

Request your free Estate Planning Strategy Session to discuss your Asset Protection goals, existing arrangements, and the next step. Understand the proposed scope and investment before deciding on legal work.

YOUR QUESTION, ANSWERED

Can You Remain a Beneficiary Without Leaving Every Asset Exposed?

A Domestic Asset Protection Trust (DAPT) is an irrevocable Trust created under the law of a state that permits certain creditor protections even though the person contributing the property remains a beneficiary. It generally requires a qualified trustee connected to that state and compliance with that state’s funding, administration, and other requirements.

The possible benefit is protection against certain future creditor claims while retaining a limited beneficial interest. The tradeoff is that you cannot keep the same unrestricted control and guaranteed access you had when you owned the assets outright.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR FAMILY

Ask which assets could appropriately be transferred, what resources should remain available outside the Trust, and what powers you would give up. A statutory waiting period is not a universal safe harbor.

DAPT planning for families with connections to multiple states requires attention to the relevant jurisdictions, ongoing administration, and the specific claims a Trust cannot defeat.

HOW THE LAW WORKS

Massachusetts generally allows a settlor’s creditor to reach the maximum amount that can be distributed to or for the settlor’s benefit from an irrevocable Trust. Creating a Trust in a DAPT state does not automatically settle which law a court will apply to a Massachusetts resident or Massachusetts property.

Creditor exceptions, the location of assets, the trustee’s role, timing, and bankruptcy rules matter. Federal bankruptcy law includes a ten-year avoidance provision for certain transfers to self-settled Trusts made with actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors; it does not automatically invalidate every DAPT transfer.

YOUR NEXT STEP

You do not need to choose a DAPT, Partnership, LLC, or Trust before calling. Start with what you want to keep available for your family and the risks that concern you.

Request your free Estate Planning Strategy Session to discuss your Asset Protection goals, existing arrangements, and the next step. Understand the proposed scope and investment before deciding on legal work.

YOUR QUESTION, ANSWERED

Protect the Family’s Ownership Without Confusing It With the Business’s Liability.

A Family Limited Partnership (FLP) or Family Limited Liability Company (FLLC) can organize family investments, property, or business interests under a governing agreement. These are partnerships or LLCs used for family purposes—not a separate category of entity with automatic protection.

The agreement establishes management, ownership, distributions, and transfer restrictions. Appropriate entities can help separate liabilities and provide a framework for succession. An FLP’s general partner generally bears partnership liability; an LLC or other appropriate entity may be used as general partner.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR FAMILY

Keep appropriate records, maintain separate accounts, observe the governing agreement, and coordinate insurance. A filing certificate cannot substitute for how the entity actually operates.

Moving a home, an investment, or a business interest into an entity can affect taxes, financing, insurance, and exemptions. Evaluate the asset before transferring it.

HOW THE LAW WORKS

A creditor with a judgment against an individual owner may seek a charging order against that owner’s economic interest. Massachusetts LLC and limited partnership statutes provide charging-order remedies with assignee rights. That does not mean the underlying entity assets can never be reached in any circumstance.

A claim against the entity itself can expose its own assets. Personal guarantees, your own wrongful acts, inadequate separation of finances, and other facts can undermine the protection you expected. Protection also varies by jurisdiction and ownership structure.

YOUR NEXT STEP

You do not need to choose a DAPT, Partnership, LLC, or Trust before calling. Start with what you want to keep available for your family and the risks that concern you.

Request your free Estate Planning Strategy Session to discuss your Asset Protection goals, existing arrangements, and the next step. Understand the proposed scope and investment before deciding on legal work.

YOUR QUESTION, ANSWERED

Leaving More Money Is Not the Same as Leaving More Protection.

A properly designed third-party inheritance Trust may help protect a beneficiary’s interest from certain creditors and provide a framework for managing distributions. Spendthrift provisions restrict transfers of the beneficiary’s interest; discretionary provisions define when a trustee may distribute property.

The terms, the beneficiary’s powers, applicable law, and the nature of a claim matter. Assets distributed outright may lose protections that applied while held in Trust. Divorce treatment is fact-specific; a Trust cannot guarantee that an inheritance will never affect a divorce.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR FAMILY

Consider a beneficiary facing creditor pressure, poor financial decisions, divorce concerns, or a need for help managing investments. The question is how the inheritance should support that person over time.

A Trust designed for an heir differs from a Trust you fund for your own benefit. The source of the assets and the powers retained by each person affect the protection available.

HOW THE LAW WORKS

The protection for your own IRA and the protection for a loved one’s inherited IRA are separate questions. Clark v. Rameker shows why the change from owner to beneficiary matters under federal bankruptcy law.

Naming a Trust as a retirement-account beneficiary also raises Income Tax and distribution-rule issues. The plan needs to coordinate creditor protection with the rules governing the account and the beneficiary.

YOUR NEXT STEP

You do not need to choose a DAPT, Partnership, LLC, or Trust before calling. Start with what you want to keep available for your family and the risks that concern you.

Request your free Estate Planning Strategy Session to discuss your Asset Protection goals, existing arrangements, and the next step. Understand the proposed scope and investment before deciding on legal work.

YOUR QUESTION, ANSWERED

Avoiding Probate Does Not Make Your Assets Unreachable.

A Revocable Living Trust can help manage property during incapacity and transfer properly funded assets outside Probate. Under Massachusetts law, its assets remain subject to the settlor’s creditors during the settlor’s lifetime. Probate avoidance and protection from your own creditors are different objectives.

The ability to revoke the Trust and take the property back provides flexibility. That same access helps explain why a Revocable Living Trust is not generally a shield against your own creditor claims.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR FAMILY

A Trust may provide continuity, privacy, inheritance management, or tax planning without providing the creditor protection you assumed. Those benefits can be valuable, but they should be understood accurately.

Start by matching your existing plan to the risks you want addressed. You may need additional tools rather than a different label on the same arrangement.

HOW THE LAW WORKS

For an irrevocable Trust, Massachusetts law generally permits a settlor’s creditor to reach the maximum amount distributable to or for the settlor’s benefit. The title on the document does not determine the full result.

A third-party Trust created for an heir can raise different questions from a Trust you create for yourself. Review who contributed the assets, who benefits, who controls distributions, and which law applies.

YOUR NEXT STEP

You do not need to choose a DAPT, Partnership, LLC, or Trust before calling. Start with what you want to keep available for your family and the risks that concern you.

Request your free Estate Planning Strategy Session to discuss your Asset Protection goals, existing arrangements, and the next step. Understand the proposed scope and investment before deciding on legal work.

YOUR QUESTION, ANSWERED

Sometimes the Most Useful Protection Is Already Within Reach.

Common tools include appropriate liability and umbrella insurance, business entities, Homestead protection, retirement-plan exemptions, suitable marital ownership arrangements, and carefully designed third-party or irrevocable Trusts. Each addresses particular assets and risks; none works for every claim.

Insurance can help fund a defense and covered liability, subject to limits and exclusions. Entity planning can separate certain business risks. Homestead and retirement exemptions may protect qualifying interests under applicable law. The useful question is how these protections work together.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR FAMILY

Does your insurance cover the activity creating the exposure? Are risky activities and valuable assets placed together unnecessarily? Is your property held in a form that supports your objectives?

Advanced Trust planning should build on sound ownership, contracts, insurance, and administration. Adding complexity without addressing these foundations can leave important risks unresolved.

HOW THE LAW WORKS

A Homestead exemption is not a blanket promise that a home is beyond every creditor. Eligibility, ownership, declaration requirements, applicable limits, and exceptions must be considered. Retirement protection also depends on the type of plan or account, the claim, and whether bankruptcy or state law applies.

For married owners, tenancy by the entirety may provide particular protections in some circumstances, but it is not interchangeable with joint tenancy or a Trust. Do not change ownership without considering the consequences.

YOUR NEXT STEP

You do not need to choose a DAPT, Partnership, LLC, or Trust before calling. Start with what you want to keep available for your family and the risks that concern you.

Request your free Estate Planning Strategy Session to discuss your Asset Protection goals, existing arrangements, and the next step. Understand the proposed scope and investment before deciding on legal work.

YOUR QUESTION, ANSWERED

The Time to Examine Exposure Is Before It Becomes a Claim.

Asset Protection Planning is generally most useful before creditor trouble arises. A transfer may be challenged when it is made with intent to hinder, delay, or defraud a creditor, or when other statutory conditions are met. A pending lawsuit is not the only sign that a claim already exists.

Most Estate Planning at Boyd & Boyd, P.C. is handled for a flat fee. The proposed scope and fee are explained before you decide to proceed. Asset Protection arrangements may also involve trustee fees, entity costs, tax returns, and ongoing administration that should be evaluated separately.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR FAMILY

Discuss the assets, business activities, insurance, guarantees, existing obligations, and family goals that shape your circumstances. If a dispute or claim already exists, disclose it before considering transfers.

The value of planning is clearer choices about protection, access, and cost—not an unsupported promise that a creditor can never reach your wealth.

HOW THE LAW WORKS

State creditor rules, bankruptcy rules, the type of claim, and the facts of the transfer can lead to different results. Moving property to a spouse, entity, or Trust does not erase a valid obligation.

Compare proposals by their features, implementation, continuing requirements, and the risks they actually address. A low setup price may leave substantial work or ongoing costs outside the quote.

YOUR NEXT STEP

You do not need to choose a DAPT, Partnership, LLC, or Trust before calling. Start with what you want to keep available for your family and the risks that concern you.

Request your free Estate Planning Strategy Session to discuss your Asset Protection goals, existing arrangements, and the next step. Understand the proposed scope and investment before deciding on legal work.

IN A REVIEWER’S OWN WORDS

★★★★★ 5-Star Google Review

“Keats is a wonderful lawyer and really knows his field. He and his staff have been delights to work with.”

— Sara Waters

Review excerpts reflect individual experiences and do not guarantee an outcome for another family.

F. Keats Boyd III and Whitney N. Tashjian help families think through important Estate Planning and Wealth Protection Planning decisions. At Boyd & Boyd, P.C., the conversation begins with what you want to protect and what you want the next generation to understand.

Asset Protection Planning uses lawful ownership arrangements, insurance, statutory exemptions, business entities, and Trusts to reduce exposure to creditor claims and other financial risks. It considers both the assets you own today and the inheritance you intend to leave. The right plan starts with the risk—not the name of a document.

A Domestic Asset Protection Trust (DAPT) is an irrevocable Trust created under the law of a state that permits certain creditor protections even though the person contributing the property remains a beneficiary. It generally requires a qualified trustee connected to that state and compliance with that state’s funding, administration, and other requirements.

A Family Limited Partnership (FLP) or Family Limited Liability Company (FLLC) can organize family investments, property, or business interests under a governing agreement. These are partnerships or LLCs used for family purposes—not a separate category of entity with automatic protection.

A properly designed third-party inheritance Trust may help protect a beneficiary’s interest from certain creditors and provide a framework for managing distributions. Spendthrift provisions restrict transfers of the beneficiary’s interest; discretionary provisions define when a trustee may distribute property.

A Revocable Living Trust can help manage property during incapacity and transfer properly funded assets outside Probate. Under Massachusetts law, its assets remain subject to the settlor’s creditors during the settlor’s lifetime. Probate avoidance and protection from your own creditors are different objectives.

Common tools include appropriate liability and umbrella insurance, business entities, Homestead protection, retirement-plan exemptions, suitable marital ownership arrangements, and carefully designed third-party or irrevocable Trusts. Each addresses particular assets and risks; none works for every claim.

Asset Protection Planning is generally most useful before creditor trouble arises. A transfer may be challenged when it is made with intent to hinder, delay, or defraud a creditor, or when other statutory conditions are met. A pending lawsuit is not the only sign that a claim already exists.

Boyd & Boyd, P.C. assists families nationwide. Families outside Massachusetts may come to our office to sign, or we may work with co-counsel licensed in their home state. Asset location, residence, and the law governing each arrangement affect how the work should be structured.

No. Planning addresses specific exposures and lawful protections. It does not eliminate liability, defeat every creditor, or guarantee a result. The facts, applicable law, implementation, and ongoing administration matter.

YOUR FREE ESTATE PLANNING STRATEGY SESSION

Discuss what you own, the risks that concern you, and the inheritance you want to leave. Start with your objectives before selecting tools.

More informed choices: understand the difference between protecting your assets and protecting an heir’s inheritance.

Fewer false assumptions: identify which protections depend on ownership, Trust terms, insurance, or ongoing administration.

A clearer next step: weigh protection against access, control, taxes, and cost before you commit to an arrangement.

The Strategy Session is free. Legal work beyond the session requires a separate engagement. No particular protection or outcome is guaranteed.

(508) 444-9688 · Tell our team which Asset Protection question brought you here.

1555 Iyannough Road, Unit 1BW • Hyannis, Massachusetts 02601

(508) 444-9688 • plan@boydandboydpc.com

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General information only. Legal advice depends on your circumstances and an attorney-client engagement.