(This information is for educational purposes only, and although we have spent every effort making sure this information is current, it is offered with the understanding that this organization and its members or not engaged in rendering legal, tax or other professional services, and each person should obtain specific advise from their accountant or attorney.)

We currently live in a time where you are more likely to end up in a lawsuit than having to go to the hospital. There are approximately 152 lawsuits filed every minute of the day!

Kyoshi Mather once told me to know self-defense in modern times one should look at living in a locked gate community, always retain good attorneys, and maintain sufficient wealth to endure any legal assault on you our your estate, and he's right. I would also add that the modern warrior must understand entity structuring in order to preserve your assets, because if you do obtain any wealth at all, there are hundreds of lawyers looking at how to get a piece of it.

In our martial arts programs we say that the A,B,C's of karate is to Attack By Combinations. In legal self-defense I like William Bronichick's A,B,C's of Asset Protection.

A: Avoid lawsuits and personal liability
B: Appear broke
C: Control but don't own

In personal self-defense the number one defense is to not be there. The same holds true for legal self-defense - don't get sued. It is imperative that you do everything within your power to avoid liability. Try to avoid personally signing for debt and instead use a corporation or other entity.

Appearing broke means to take assets off of public records and own anything of value inside other entities such as LLC's or Trusts. The first thing an attorney will do before he takes a case, is to evaluate whether he has a chance to win, and secondly and more importantly he will check and see if he is awarded a judgment, is there enough assets where he will get paid. Simply keeping your personal name off of corporate records will go a long way towards deterring trivial lawsuits.

The key is to control assets by using corporate entities and not owning them personally. This will allow you to enjoy the benefits of ownership without the risk of loosing anything. Although hiring a competent estate attorney is mandatory, an example might look like this:

• You own a corporation that deals with the public.
• It leases equipment from another company that you own.
• It rents from a real estate company that you own.