ATTORNEY ANSWER BY MARGARET L. CROSS-BELIVEAU:
Has the person died yet? If not, my answer would be for the grantor to change his Will and/or trust so that the assets are not transferred to you. The grantor should create a spendthrift trust for your benefit. This means that you have no right to the assets. The Trustee may make distributions to you but would not be required to do so. Those assets could not be touched by your creditors unless the Trustee made a distribution to you.
If the person has already died, has the judgment already been issued? You could avail yourself of a asset protection trust. However, there are rules to funding these trusts and one of them is that you can’t have a judgment against you or have one issued within a certain time period from funding the trusts.
Lastly, what type of business are you inheriting? Is it a limited liability company? Would you be inheriting all of the company? An LLC has a creditor protection component built into it. A creditor could obtain a charging order which requires that any distribution from an LLC be paid to you, but could not pierce through the company to get to the underlying assets nor force a distribution to the owners.
Legal Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on since each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship. A lawyer experienced in the subject area and licensed to practice in the jurisdiction should be consulted for legal advice. Circular 230 Disclaimer: Any information in this answer may not be used to eliminate or reduce penalties by the IRS or any other governmental agency.
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