Financial Self-Defense: How to Protect Everything You Own...From Everyone...Everytime

Attorneys Hillel Presser and Arnold Goldstein have a challenge for everyone.

Take a fraction of the time you spend earning money, and think about how you can protect it. Presser and Goldstein, authors of the book Financial Self-Defense: How to Protect Everything You Own...From Everyone...Everytime! from Garrett Press (www.garrettpub.com), want you to use their book as a primer.

"Everything in life begins with a good plan," Presser said. "This book is the beginning of your plan to build yourself a financial fortress - a literal barricade to safeguard your worldly possessions."

You should start at the beginning - assess where you are right now by asking yourself:

• What do I have now?
• What do I own?
• What dangers are there to my wealth?
• What have I done to protect my assets?

Having a self-defense plan in place is necessary whether you are rich or poor. This book is essential for anyone who earns money, inherits money or finds money, and wants to keep it. It is also necessary for anyone who has gone through financial difficulty before and wants to avoid going through it again and anyone who is heading into a financial difficulty - especially with today's economic difficulties.

Good reasons to seek asset protection are:

• Lawsuits
• Divorce
• Creditors
• Bankruptcy
• Tax collectors
• Foreclosure

There are several myths and fallacies that Goldstein and Presser debunk, including:

• "I have too few assets to protect" - "Wealth is relative," Presser said. "How would you feel if you lost everything you have? It doesn't have to be a lot to be your life's savings."
• "I can't foresee anyone suing me" - "Crazy things happen, and you never know where circumstance will take you," he said. "You don't want to be taken by surprise."
• "I can protect myself with liability insurance" - "Your claim could be denied because of some technicality," he added. "You might not have enough coverage or your insurance company could simply go bankrupt."
• "It costs too much" - "Most families can shelter their net worth for less than they'd pay for a modest vacation," he said. "Asset protection is an investment in your future."
• "It's not moral to shield your assets" - "Bankruptcy laws, exemption laws, corporations, trusts and other protective entities and debtor-oriented laws are intended to shield wealth. Our society is based on a foundation of laws, and these laws exist to prevent bad things from happening to good people."

According to Presser, most people simply need an effective asset firewall, something that changes as you and your wealth change and grow.

"Don't overlook your intangible assets, future assets, intellectual property, inheritances, monies due you," he added. "These often overlooked assets can have great value. Asset protection is like football. You need a defensive line that will best block a particular offensive line."

When your assets are in jeopardy through a lawsuit or legal action against you, Presser suggested layering your firewalls. This way, if one fails, there are still more that stand as obstacles between those actions and your assets. He also cautioned that this kind of defense can be costly, which is why they only use it if there is an imminent threat. Presser explained how to "bulletproof" your investments and retirement accounts by layering firewalls to protect them. Along with protecting your assets, you need to protect your estate.

"Why work a lifetime to accumulate and safe-keep assets only to lose them after you die?" he asked. "Estate planning goes hand -in-hand with asset protection planning."

Hillel L. Presser has been featured in Forbes, Sports Illustrated, Robb Report and more. He has also been on many radio and television stations, such as Fox, NBC, ABC AND CBS. He has been profiled in Canada, Germany, Greece, Ireland and the United Kingdom. He is the co-founder of Presser/Goldstein LLC and counsels many professional athletes and celebrities in their asset protection planning.