Illinois Asset Protection for Business Owners & Entrepreneurs

Tomorrow morning, we have another meeting with a prospect regarding an asset protection for a business owner that has a lot of prior judgments from a failed business venture. In today's economy, many experienced business owners have experienced significant failure resulting in lawsuits, judgments, and liability risks. Part of the conversation tomorrow is how to structure future business enterprises to deal with the judgments and liability risks that exist in the past. First, we must be careful because under Illinois law, an attorney must not assist an entreprenuer or small business owner commit a fraud. Generally, future planning that involves future assets is different than planning with current assets such as real estate, investments, checking accounts, etc. When a business owner has a spouse, it makes it easier to plan around past judgments and liens. The obvious question that must be answered and asked is whether bankruptcy or Chapter 7 bankruptcy is an appropriate decision. In many circumstances, Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a bad alternative because the creditors such as banks, financial institutions, and other creditors will undergo an adversarial court proceeding in the Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The purpose of an adversarial court proceeding is to challenge the small business owner's bankruptcy proceeding and save their client money. Thus, even if Chapter 7 is a good alternative in many cases, a Chapter 7 is a bad alternative because the business is an expenditure of money that many entrepreneurs and small business owners cannot afford at this point in time. Another goal of the asset protection attorney is to identify an appropriate business entity to operate in for future purposes. This is important because certain business entities may face a charging order by a court. A charging order is simply a court order which gives control of the company to the creditor. Thus, the creditor will controll all distributions and voting rights. In contrasts, a properly formerly Family Limited Liability Corporation prevents a charging order and limits the rights of creditors. For an experienced business owner this is important because it enables them to regain their economic strength and pay off their debts when they have the financial strength. In many cases, this will involve paying less than what is owed on these creditor debits. In conclusion, Sean Robertson is an asset protection and wealth preservation attorney based in North Aurora and Downtown Chicago, Illinois. Robertson Law Group, LLC is a wealth management and asset protection law firm specializing in distressed business planning and litigation, commercial litigation, and asset protection. Sean Robertson may be reached either at 630-800-2033 or 312-854-7102. The firm's website is www.RobertsonLawGroup.com. Keywords: Family LLC Attorney Chicago, Family LLC Downtown Chicago, Family LLC Lawyer Western Suburbs, Family LLC Naperville Attorney, Family Limited Liability Corporation Law Firm Aurora, Illinois, charging order Family Limited Liability Corporation, Physician Asset Protection, Entrepreneurial Asset Protection Chicago, Entrepreneurial Asset Protection Attorney, Asset Preservation Attorney Naperville Illinois, Asset Protection Law Firm Aurora, Wealth Management Law Firm North Aurora, Wealth Management Law Firm Chicago