Protecting your personal and/or professional assets from all threats is what you aim. The risk of access and seizure by creditors prompts individuals and businesses to take certain measures. This set of measures, in short, is legally termed asset protection. Here is a brief overview of the matter.

Whether it is real estate property or bank accounts, investments or stocks and bonds, assets may vary from one entity to another. There are two distinct areas regarding the legal protection of these assets – domestic protection and offshore protection. It is best to consult an attorney to know which suits your individual requirements.

The popular way is the formation of an asset protection trust. You can give the responsibility of the management of the property to the trustee and remain as a beneficiary of the trust to get regular profits from it. Your attorney can help formulate this type of a trust contract with ease.

Another way is to opt for transforming your business into a corporation. Your personal property is separate from the business assets when you form a corporation. Therefore, no business liabilities may lead to the seizure of your personal assets. Offshore corporation formation keeps you away from the risk of business asset seizure as well.

You need to understand that asset protection aims at legal safekeeping of property. It is not a way to defraud creditors. This is why you need to plan this with the help of knowledgeable asset protection attorneys. Only a proficient legal professional would know how to go about the matter.

Division of the assets of a deceased individual follows a particular procedure, as per the directives of the state. The Commonwealth of Virginia is no exception. The probate process, i.e. the official authentication of the will, involves certain legalities. It is always better if you can avail help from probate attorneys to deal with the issue.

Here are a few of the common questions that come up with regard to the process.

Where do you initiate the probate process? As Virginia does not have a separate probate court, the right place to go to is the Circuit Court. This needs to be of the city/county of residence of the deceased/where he/she had real estate property/where he/she died. The process takes place at the Norfolk Circuit Court for all decedents residing/owning property/dying in the city.

What if there is no will? Well, if a person dies intestate, i.e. without a will, Virginia laws determine the descendants who inherit the property. The surviving spouse gets the property; he/she has to share it if the deceased has children from earlier marriages. The next in the order are the children, the parents, siblings, or the next in kin.

When do you initiate the process? There is no time limit to this. Get in touch with one of the probate attorneys in your city and discuss the details. It is best if you could initiate the proceeding within 30 days of the individual’s death.

What do you need to bring to the court? When you go to meet the Clerk of the court, be sure to take the original copy of the will, the individual’s death certificate and a list of the assets along with their value.

Do you need an attorney? Whether there is a will or not, and whether the estate requires an administrator or not, it involves complex laws. Therefore, you need the help of Norfolk probate attorneys in this matter. They can help you throughout the process with ease and efficiency.