Insights & articles.

Retirement

How to Protect Retirement Accounts in California

How retirement accounts are protected in California, ERISA vs. IRA rules, beneficiary designations, withdrawals, estate tax, and the trust strategies that add a layer of protection. A plain-English guide.

July 13, 2026 Asset Protection

Asset Protection Basics for High-Net-Worth Individuals

The core asset-protection strategies high-net-worth individuals use to shield wealth from lawsuits and creditors: irrevocable trusts, LLCs, exemptions, insurance, marital agreements, and proactive review, explained by a firm whose principal attorney litigates trust and estate disputes.

July 13, 2026 Asset Protection

Charging Order Protection: Why the State of Your LLC Matters

A 'charging order' is what stands between your personal creditor and the assets inside your LLC, and its strength varies dramatically by state. Why Wyoming, Nevada, and a few others lead, and why single-member LLCs are the weak point.

July 6, 2026 Offshore

Cook Islands Trust vs. Domestic Asset Protection Trust: Which Is Right for You?

Should you protect assets with an offshore Cook Islands trust or a domestic asset protection trust? A side-by-side comparison of strength, cost, complexity, and who each option suits best.

June 22, 2026 Asset Protection

How Much Does Asset Protection Cost? What to Expect

Asset protection costs vary widely with the structure and your situation. A candid overview of what to expect, from simple entity planning to domestic and offshore trusts, and why the right question isn't just price.

June 8, 2026 Asset Protection

Wealth Security 101: Asset Protection Strategies for Preserving Wealth

Building wealth is one job; keeping it is another. A plain-English guide to the core asset-protection strategies, trusts, insurance, entity structuring, and estate planning, that preserve wealth from lawsuits, creditors, and downturns.

June 5, 2026 Asset Protection

The Physician’s Asset Protection Guide

Physicians face some of the highest liability exposure of any profession. A complete guide to protecting a doctor's personal and practice assets, insurance, entities, retirement accounts, and asset protection trusts.

May 18, 2026 Asset Protection

Asset Protection for Business Owners: A Complete Guide

Business owners face liability from every direction and often hold most of their net worth in the company. A complete guide to protecting both your personal assets and your business, entities, structure, insurance, and trusts.

May 4, 2026 Asset Protection

What Is a Domestic Asset Protection Trust (DAPT)?

A domestic asset protection trust (DAPT) lets you protect assets from creditors while remaining a beneficiary, all within U.S. law. How DAPTs work, which states allow them, and their strengths and limits.

April 20, 2026 Asset Protection

7 Common Asset Protection Myths, Debunked

Misconceptions about asset protection cause people to rely on tools that don't work, or to skip planning entirely. Seven of the most common and costly asset-protection myths, corrected.

April 6, 2026 Asset Protection

The Future of Asset Protection: Trends Shaping Our Approach

Asset protection is evolving, digital assets, the Corporate Transparency Act, rising litigation, and modernized offshore law are reshaping how families protect wealth. With 33+ years of experience, Tresp, Day & Associates explains the trends.

September 24, 2025 Estate Planning

Navigating Generational Wealth Transfer

Passing wealth to the next generation takes more than a will. A guide to generational wealth transfer, succession planning, protected inheritances, dynasty trusts, and preparing heirs, from Tresp, Day & Associates.

April 21, 2025 Asset Protection

Myth Busting: Why LLCs and Land Trusts Do Not Protect Your Assets

LLCs and revocable living trusts (including land trusts) are essential estate-planning tools, but they do not provide the asset protection most people assume. Here's why, and what actually protects your assets.

April 19, 2024 Compliance

Business Compliance Solutions Tailored to Your Business

Compliance isn't one-size-fits-all. Industry-tailored compliance solutions for businesses in California and Wyoming, finance, healthcare, technology, and more, from Tresp, Day & Associates.

April 8, 2024 Compliance

From Liability Protection to Lasting Success: The Role of Compliance in Business Growth

Compliance is more than a legal obligation, it's a strategic asset. How disciplined compliance protects owners from liability, builds trust, and creates the foundation for sustainable business growth.

March 29, 2024 Compliance

Empowering Your Team with Comprehensive Compliance Training

Internal compliance training turns policies on paper into a culture of adherence. Best practices for effective, tailored, ongoing compliance training that protects your business.

March 22, 2024 Business Law

Protect Your Business Fortress: The Role of Corporate Formalities

Your corporation or LLC only protects you if you treat it as a real, separate entity. Why corporate formalities and record-keeping are the difference between a liability shield that holds and one that gets pierced.

March 15, 2024 Business Law

Strategic Business Planning for Long-Term Success

Strategic business planning aligns your legal structure, compliance, and protection with your growth goals. How the right foundation positions a business for long-term success.

March 11, 2024 Estate Planning

The Crucial Importance of Updating Joint Assets After the Passing of a Co-Owner

After a co-owner dies, failing to update jointly held assets can cause legal, probate, and tax problems for surviving owners and beneficiaries. What to update, and why it matters.

March 1, 2024 Estate Planning

Will the Estate Tax Exemption Sunset Make the Disclaimer Trust a Thing of the Past?

With the federal estate tax exemption set to drop after 2025, married couples are rethinking their plans. Why the flexible disclaimer trust remains a valuable tool no matter where the exemption lands.

January 3, 2024 Asset Protection

Asset Protection Trusts: An Alternative to the Uncomfortable Pre-Nup Conversation

Prenuptial agreements protect assets in a divorce, but the conversation is hard. Asset protection trusts can offer 'divorce-proofing' without the awkward negotiation. How the two tools compare.

December 21, 2023 Asset Protection

Mistakes Health Care Professionals Make When Trying to Protect Assets

Physicians and other healthcare professionals face high liability, and often protect their assets the wrong way. The most common mistakes: holding assets personally, using the wrong tools, relying on insurance alone, and waiting too long.

December 13, 2023 Asset Protection

The “Asset Protection” Stigma, Explained

Some people hear 'asset protection' and think of hiding money or dodging debts. That's a misconception. Legitimate asset protection is a legal, ethical, and prudent way to safeguard wealth from lawsuits and creditors.

December 6, 2023 Asset Protection

Asset Protection Strategies: Optimizing Asset Placement Across Legal Structures

Effective asset protection isn't just about which structures you use, it's about placing the right assets in the right structures. A guide to strategic asset allocation across trusts, entities, and exemptions.

November 29, 2023 Real Estate

Optimizing Your Real Estate Portfolio: The Role of a Holding Company

For real estate investors with multiple LLCs, a holding company can streamline operations, strengthen asset protection, and add tax efficiency. Here's when a holding company makes sense, and when it doesn't.

November 22, 2023 Business Succession

Securing Multiple Businesses: Steps for Effective Business Succession Planning

Owning multiple businesses multiplies the succession challenge. Essential steps to build tailored succession plans, identify and train successors, and ensure smooth transitions that protect each enterprise.

November 15, 2023 Business Law

Should I Create a Separate LLC for a New Venture, or Use My Existing Entity?

Launching a new venture raises a key structuring question: form a separate LLC or run it through your existing company? A framework weighing liability, operations, branding, taxes, and growth.

November 8, 2023 Asset Protection

Why LLCs Do Not Offer the Protection of Asset Protection Trusts

LLCs and asset protection trusts both appear in protection plans, but they do very different jobs. Why a trust generally offers stronger, more reliable protection for high-net-worth individuals than an LLC alone.

November 1, 2023 Asset Protection

The Power of Privacy Trusts for Asset Protection

A privacy trust keeps ownership of your assets confidential, and privacy is itself a form of protection. How privacy trusts and privacy-focused structures shield wealth from opportunistic litigation.

October 25, 2023 Business Law

Mastering Business Structure: Optimizing Multiple Business Entities

Running multiple businesses demands deliberate structure. A guide to organizing multiple entities for liability separation, operational efficiency, tax treatment, and growth, with a holding-company overview.

October 18, 2023 Compliance

The Corporate Transparency Act: How Do I Protect My Privacy?

The Corporate Transparency Act requires many companies to report their beneficial owners. What the law requires, who counts as a beneficial owner, and how to protect your privacy within the rules.

October 6, 2023 Business Law

Business Planning: How to Protect My Multiple Businesses

Owning several businesses multiplies both opportunity and risk. How to structure multiple companies so a problem in one can't take down the others, with liability separation, entity choice, and asset protection.

April 3, 2023 Asset Protection

Love Is in the Air: A Layered Approach to Pre-Marital Planning

Protecting assets before marriage doesn't have to mean only a prenup. A layered approach, combining pre-marital agreements with asset protection trusts, secures wealth while easing the conversation.

February 22, 2023 Asset Protection

Medical Malpractice Insurance: Not the Magic Cure for Liability Risk

Malpractice insurance is essential for physicians, but it's not a complete liability solution. Policy limits, exclusions, and above-limits judgments leave personal assets exposed. Why doctors need structural asset protection too.

January 25, 2023 Estate Planning

Inflation and Interest Rates: An Estate Planning Opportunity

Interest rates quietly shape which estate-planning strategies work best. How the rate environment affects tools like GRATs, intra-family loans, and CLTs, and why reviewing your plan when rates move can pay off.

January 5, 2023 Compliance

The Corporate Transparency Act Is Coming: How Do I Protect My Privacy?

The Corporate Transparency Act introduced federal beneficial-ownership reporting for many companies. What business owners should understand about the new rules, and how to plan for privacy within them.

December 13, 2022 Estate Planning

Why Should I Have an Estate Plan?

An estate plan isn't just for the wealthy or the elderly. It protects your family, avoids probate, plans for incapacity, and keeps decisions in your hands. Here's why everyone needs one.

November 23, 2022 Estate Planning

Estate Planning Awareness: Why It Matters

National Estate Planning Awareness Week highlights a costly gap: most Americans don't have an up-to-date estate plan. Why awareness matters, and the simple steps that protect your family.

October 20, 2022 Asset Protection

Understanding the “Asset Protection” Stigma

Why does 'asset protection' make some people uneasy? A look at the misconceptions behind the stigma, and the reality that legitimate asset protection is legal, ethical, and prudent planning.

August 1, 2022 Asset Protection

The Tax Benefits of Family Limited Partnerships (FLPs)

A family limited partnership (FLP) can combine asset protection with meaningful estate- and gift-tax advantages. How FLPs work, the valuation-discount benefit, and where they fit in a wealth plan.

July 19, 2022 Estate Planning

Is My Inheritance Taxable?

Most inheritances aren't subject to income tax, but there are important exceptions, like inherited retirement accounts. A plain-English guide to when an inheritance is taxable and when it isn't.

July 12, 2022 Asset Protection

Understanding Asset Protection: The Basics

A clear introduction to asset protection: what it is, who needs it, the core tools (exemptions, entities, and trusts), and the one rule that determines whether a plan holds, timing.

March 8, 2022 Charitable Planning

Donating Retirement Assets: A Tax-Smart Charitable Strategy

Retirement accounts can be one of the most tax-efficient assets to leave to charity. How qualified charitable distributions and charitable beneficiary designations reduce taxes while furthering your legacy.

March 3, 2022 Estate Planning

Changing Your Estate Plan After Divorce

Divorce doesn't automatically undo every part of your estate plan. What to update after a divorce, beneficiary designations, trusts, powers of attorney, and guardianship, to make sure your wishes are current.

December 8, 2021 Estate Planning

Estate Planning During the Holidays

The holidays bring family together, making it a natural, if underused, time to think about estate planning. How to approach the conversation and what to prioritize.

November 30, 2021 Estate Planning

Protecting Generational Wealth With a Dynasty Trust

A dynasty trust can keep family wealth protected and out of the estate-tax system for multiple generations. How dynasty trusts work, their tax and creditor-protection benefits, and who they're for.

October 28, 2021 Estate Planning

Cryptocurrency and Estate Planning

Cryptocurrency creates a unique estate-planning problem: if no one can access your keys, the assets are lost forever. How to plan so your crypto passes securely to your heirs.

October 20, 2021 Estate Planning

Proposed Tax Law Changes and Their Impact on Your Planning

Proposed changes to estate and gift tax law create planning windows that can close quickly. Why staying informed and acting proactively, rather than waiting for final legislation, protects your wealth.

October 7, 2021 Estate Planning

Planning Your Estate in a Mobile Society

Americans move often, but estate laws vary by state. Why you should review your estate plan after relocating, covering trust validity, community property, taxes, and document requirements.

June 18, 2021 Asset Protection

How Do I Protect My Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency needs protection on two fronts: from creditors and lawsuits, and from theft or loss of access. How trusts, entities, and secure key management protect your digital wealth.

June 11, 2021 Privacy

Trusted Ways to Maintain Privacy

Financial privacy is a legitimate goal, and a form of protection. Proven, lawful ways to keep asset ownership confidential using trusts, privacy-focused entities, and careful titling.

May 10, 2021 Estate Planning

Estate Planning During a Divorce

Estate planning shouldn't wait until a divorce is finalized. What you can and should update while a divorce is pending, and what has to wait, to protect yourself during the process.

April 26, 2021 Asset Protection

How Divorce Makes Trusts Vulnerable, and How to Prevent It

A trust you leave to your children can be exposed in their divorce if it's not structured carefully. How proper drafting keeps inherited trust assets protected from a beneficiary's divorcing spouse.

February 26, 2021 Estate Planning

Estate Planning for Your Digital Assets

Your digital life, accounts, photos, cryptocurrency, online businesses, is part of your estate. How to plan so your fiduciaries can access and manage digital assets when you can't.

February 10, 2021 Charitable Planning

Generational Philanthropy: Building a Legacy of Giving

Generational philanthropy passes down values along with wealth. How families use private foundations, donor-advised funds, and charitable trusts to give together across generations, with tax benefits.

February 4, 2021 Estate Planning

Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs): Using Exemptions Before They Disappear

A spousal lifetime access trust (SLAT) lets you use your gift-tax exemption before it drops, while your spouse retains indirect access to the assets. How SLATs work, their benefits, and their risks.

January 27, 2021 Asset Protection

Asset Protection for Small Business Owners

Small business owners face liability from every direction, and often have most of their wealth tied up in the business. How to protect both your personal assets and the business itself.

November 20, 2020 Estate Planning

Building an Annual Gifting Plan

Annual gifting is one of the simplest, most powerful estate-planning tools. How the annual gift-tax exclusion works and how a consistent gifting plan moves significant wealth to the next generation tax-free.

November 10, 2020 Estate Planning

Estate Planning Considerations for LGBTQ+ Families

Estate planning is especially important for LGBTQ+ individuals and families, where default laws may not reflect your wishes. Key considerations for protecting partners, children, and each other.

June 25, 2020 Asset Protection

Pre-Marital Planning: Protecting What You Bring to a Marriage

Pre-marital planning protects premarital assets, family wealth, and business interests before you marry. The tools, prenuptial agreements and asset protection trusts, and how to approach the conversation.

April 13, 2020 Real Estate

Asset Protection for Real Estate Investors

Real estate is a high-liability, high-value asset, a combination that demands protection. How investors use separate LLCs, holding companies, and trusts to shield each property and their personal wealth.

April 6, 2020 Asset Protection

The Basics of Asset Protection: Types of Structures

A foundational guide to the structures used in asset protection, exemptions, business entities, domestic asset protection trusts, and offshore trusts, and how they compare in strength and complexity.

February 12, 2020 Asset Protection

The Basics of Asset Protection: Fraudulent Conveyance and Voidable Transfers

Fraudulent conveyance (voidable transfer) law is why asset protection must be done early. What it means, how courts unwind late transfers, and why timing determines whether a plan holds.

January 29, 2020 Asset Protection

The Basics of Asset Protection: Legal Ownership

The core principle of asset protection is ownership: creditors can reach what you own. Structures work by changing legal ownership without giving up the benefit. A foundational explainer.

January 14, 2020 Asset Protection

Inside-Out Asset Protection: Single-Member LLCs

Not all LLC protection is equal. Understanding 'inside' vs. 'outside' liability, and why single-member LLCs are weak on outside protection in many states, is key to structuring your assets correctly.

December 17, 2019 Estate Planning

DIY Estate Planning: Yes or No?

Online estate-planning forms are cheap and convenient, but the mistakes they invite can be far more expensive than an attorney. When DIY estate planning falls short, and where it genuinely fails.

December 2, 2019