OUR RECOMMENDED ASSET PROTECTION PROGRAM

LEVEL 1: Basic Asset Protection for Investors (the Texas Series LLC or Nevada LLC)

1. form a Texas Series LLC or Nevada Series LLC to own and manage investment properties and businesses in separate "series" or compartments, establishing a barrier against personal liability in the event of lawsuits;
2. file an assumed name certificate (DBA) for this Texas company and utilize the DBA in business dealings, contracts, etc.;
3. establish a checking account for the company under its DBA´s and have checks, letterhead, cards, etc. printed that way, phone numbers listed that way, etc.;
4. transfer any properties held in personal names into individual series of the holding company (Series A, Series B, etc.) using properly-worded general warranty deeds;
5. separate homestead and other creditor-exempt items from investments and businesses, then reduce debt on these items in order to maximize protections afforded by the Property Code and Texas Constitution;
6. form a living trust for the homestead to avoid probate, transfer the home into it, and then execute a "pour over" will to transfer other assets to the trust upon your death.

LEVEL 2: Two-Company Structure (the "Texas Two Step")

1. establish a Texas Series LLC or Nevada Series LLC to own and hold (but not manage) investment properties and businesses (the "holding company");
2. form a separate Texas LLC to act as a "shell" management company (no significant assets) to acquire properties and then transfer them to the holding company; meanwhile the management company deals with tenants, vendors, contractors, and the public; income passes through to the holding company as consulting fees and returns to the management company, if needed, as management fees;
3. file assumed name certificates (DBA´s) for both the holding company and for the management company and utilize these names;
4. establish checking accounts for the each company under their respective DBA´s and have checks, letterhead, cards, etc. printed that way, phone numbers listed that way, etc.;
5. transfer any properties held in personal names into individual series of the holding company (Series A, Series B, etc.) using properly-worded general warranty deeds;
6. separate homestead and other creditor-exempt items from investments and businesses, then reduce debt on these items in order to maximize protections afforded by the Property Code and Texas Constitution;
7. (7) form a living trust for the homestead to avoid probate, transfer the home into it, and then execute a "pour over" will to transfer other assets to the trust upon your death.

LEVEL 3: Texas-Nevada Combination (the "Two-State Solution")

1. establish a Nevada Series LLC to own and hold (but not manage) investment properties and businesses (the "holding company") achieving a measure of physical and legal distance and anonymity from Texas plaintiffs;
2. form a separate Texas LLC to act as a "shell" management company (no significant assets) to acquire properties and then transfer them to the holding company; meanwhile the management company deals with tenants, vendors, contractors, and the public; income passes through to the holding company as consulting fees and returns to the management company, if needed, as management fees;
3. file assumed name certificates (DBA´s) for both the holding company and for the management company and utilize these names;
4. establish checking accounts for the each company under their respective DBA´s and have checks, letterhead, cards, etc. printed that way, phone numbers list that way, etc.;
5. transfer any properties held in personal names into individual series of the Nevada holding company (Series A, Series B, etc.) using properly-worded general warranty deeds;
6. separate homestead and other creditor-exempt items from investments and businesses, then reduce debt on these items in order to maximize protections afforded by the Property Code and Texas Constitution;
7. form a living trust for the homestead to avoid probate, transfer the home into it, and then execute a "pour over" will to transfer other assets to the trust upon your death.

The outcome? The holding company that owns hard assets has no business dealings (no legal "privity") with anyone and is therefore nearly impossible to successfully sue; the shell management company, if sued, is a dead-end for creditors; and, as to the homestead, protections are maximized and probate is usually eliminated.