Asset Protection & Business Planning

Overview

Building wealth is hard. Keeping it can be harder. The United States is the most litigious country in the world, and business owners, professionals, and high-net-worth families face a constant background risk of claims, creditors, and disputes. Sound planning reduces that risk before a claim ever arises.

Hutchison & Steffen’s Asset Protection & Business Planning attorneys help Nevada clients structure their businesses and personal holdings using the tools Nevada law makes available, including some of the strongest asset protection statutes in the country. We serve clients in Las Vegas, Reno, and throughout Nevada, and we work with clients outside the state who want to take advantage of Nevada’s trust and entity laws.

Understanding The Practice

What Is Asset Protection & Business Planning?

Asset protection is the lawful arrangement of assets, entities, and trusts so that they are placed beyond the easy reach of future creditors. Done well, it is proactive. The most effective planning happens long before any claim, dispute, or judgment is on the horizon.

Nevada is a leading jurisdiction for this work. Its self-settled spendthrift trust statute, NRS Chapter 166, allows a person to create a trust, retain certain benefits, and still protect the assets from future creditors, subject to a statutory seasoning period. Nevada also provides strong charging-order protection for LLCs and limited partnerships, and it imposes no state income tax.

Business planning is the other half of the same effort. It includes choosing and forming the right entity, drafting operating and buy-sell agreements, and building a succession plan so a business survives an owner’s retirement, disability, death, or departure. Structured together, business and personal planning reinforce each other.

Timing is everything. Transfers made after a claim arises, or once one is reasonably foreseeable, can be unwound as fraudulent under Nevada’s Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act, NRS Chapter 112. That is why we counsel clients to plan early, deliberately, and within the law.

What We Provide

Asset Protection & Business Planning Services We Provide

01

Nevada Asset Protection Trusts

Establishing self-settled spendthrift trusts under NRS Chapter 166, which let a settlor protect assets while retaining certain benefits, subject to Nevada’s statutory seasoning period. Nevada is one of the strongest asset protection trust jurisdictions in the country.
02

Business Entity Formation & Structuring

Choosing and forming the right entity, whether an LLC, corporation, series LLC, or limited partnership, and structuring ownership to maximize the charging-order protection Nevada law provides under NRS 86.401 and related statutes.
03

Family Limited Partnerships & LLCs

Using family limited partnerships and family LLCs to consolidate, manage, and protect family wealth, and to support gifting and succession strategies across generations.
04

Business Succession Planning

Building buy-sell agreements, ownership transition plans, and governance structures so a business continues smoothly through an owner’s retirement, disability, death, or departure.
05

Irrevocable & Dynasty Trusts

Establishing irrevocable trusts, education trusts, and Nevada dynasty trusts, which can continue for up to 365 years, to protect and transfer wealth to children and future generations.
06

Fraudulent Transfer Counseling

Advising on when and how to plan lawfully, well ahead of any claim, and avoiding transfers that could be unwound as fraudulent under Nevada’s Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act, NRS Chapter 112.

Understanding The Distrinction

The Nevada Advantage

Not all states treat asset protection the same way. Nevada has deliberately built one of the most protective legal environments in the country for individuals and business owners. The differences below are why many families and businesses, including those based outside the state, choose Nevada structures.
Nevada Licensing Board vs. Governing Statute
Provider Type Nevada Licensing Board Governing Statute
Physicians (MD) Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners NRS Chapter 630
Osteopathic physicians (DO) Nevada State Board of Osteopathic Medicine NRS Chapter 633
Nurses & APRNs Nevada State Board of Nursing NRS Chapter 632
Dentists & hygienists Nevada State Board of Dental Examiners NRS Chapter 631
Pharmacists Nevada State Board of Pharmacy NRS Chapter 639
Chiropractors Chiropractic Physicians' Board of Nevada NRS Chapter 634
Physical therapists Nevada Physical Therapy Board NRS Chapter 640

When Planning Pays Off

When Asset Protection & Business Planning Makes Sense

The best time to plan is before you need to. Asset protection works because it is put in place while the skies are clear, not after a claim, lawsuit, or judgment has appeared. Once a creditor problem is reasonably foreseeable, the same transfers that would have been effective earlier can be challenged and unwound.

Certain life and business events are natural moments to plan. Starting, buying, or selling a business, bringing on a partner, acquiring investment real estate, reaching a meaningful level of wealth, or entering a high-liability profession all raise the value of getting the structure right.

Business owners in particular benefit from coordinating asset protection with succession planning, so the enterprise they have built is protected during their lifetime and transitions cleanly afterward. Our attorneys design these structures to fit each client’s business, family, and estate plan, and we build them to hold up under scrutiny.

When Clients Come to Us

  • Starting, buying, or selling a business
  • Bringing on a business partner or investor
  • Reaching a level of personal wealth worth protecting
  • Working in a high-liability profession such as medicine or construction
  • Owning rental or investment real estate
  • Planning for retirement, disability, or business succession
  • Marriage, remarriage, or forming a blended family
  • Receiving an inheritance or a liquidity event
  • Concern about future creditors, lawsuits, or judgments
  • Coordinating a business structure with an estate plan
  • Establishing generational or dynasty wealth transfer
  • Relocating to Nevada or seeking Nevada’s trust and entity advantages

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Nevada asset protection trust?

A Nevada asset protection trust is a self-settled spendthrift trust created under NRS Chapter 166. It lets the person who funds the trust remain a permitted beneficiary while still shielding the trust assets from future creditors, subject to a statutory seasoning period and other requirements. Nevada’s statute is regarded as one of the strongest of its kind in the country.

Is it too late to protect my assets once I have been sued?

In most cases, yes, at least as to that claim. Asset protection depends on planning done before a creditor problem is reasonably foreseeable. Transfers made after a claim arises can be unwound as fraudulent under NRS Chapter 112. That is why the time to plan is well before any dispute, and why we encourage clients not to wait.

What is the difference between asset protection and estate planning?

Estate planning is chiefly about transferring assets at death and managing incapacity, through wills, trusts, and related documents. Asset protection is about shielding assets from creditors during your lifetime. The two overlap and work best together, and a good plan coordinates both so that protection and transfer goals reinforce each other.

How does a Nevada LLC protect my assets?

A properly formed Nevada LLC separates business liabilities from personal assets, and Nevada law makes the charging order a creditor’s sole remedy against a member’s interest under NRS 86.401. That means a creditor generally cannot seize the interest or force a sale, and Nevada extends this protection even to single-member LLCs, which many states do not.

What is business succession planning and why does my company need it?

Business succession planning is the process of deciding, in advance, how ownership and management of a business will transfer when an owner retires, becomes disabled, dies, or leaves. It typically uses buy-sell agreements and governance provisions. Without a plan, an owner’s departure can trigger disputes, forced sales, or the loss of the business’s value.

Do I have to live in Nevada to use a Nevada asset protection trust?

No. Non-residents can use Nevada trusts, though doing so requires careful structuring, including a qualified Nevada trustee and proper administration in the state. Because another state’s law may also come into play, non-residents in particular should work with counsel experienced in Nevada trust structures to make the protection effective.

Are family limited partnerships still effective for asset protection?

Yes, when properly formed and operated for legitimate purposes. Family limited partnerships and family LLCs consolidate and manage family wealth, provide charging-order protection, and support gifting and succession planning. As with any structure, they must be respected as real entities and not used to hinder existing creditors, which is where experienced counsel matters.

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