Asset Protection and Estate Planning with Jeff Verdon

Summary

Jeff Verdon approaches estate planning as more than a question of what happens to wealth after someone dies. In this presentation from Alliance Portfolio’s Alternative Investment Summit and 2025 Outlook, he focuses on another question: how can individuals protect the wealth they have accumulated from risks that may arise during their lifetime?

Verdon discusses the relationship between estate planning and asset protection, including the importance of planning before a claim exists. He examines how real estate and other assets are titled, the difference between liability arising inside an asset-owning entity and personal liability that may expose assets directly, and the role that LLCs, retirement plans, asset-protection trusts, and other structures may play in protecting assets from future creditors.

The second half of the presentation moves further into long-term estate planning. Verdon discusses domestic and offshore trusts, protecting equity in a personal residence, planning for investment real estate, estate and gift tax considerations as they stood at the time of recording, and trust structures designed to move appreciating assets outside an estate while retaining flexibility for the family.

The presentation concludes with an audience Q&A covering mortgages, property ownership, LLCs, taxes, IRAs, 1031 exchanges, and trust administration.

Key takeaways

• Asset protection is prospective planning.Verdon emphasizes that asset-protection planning generally needs to be considered before a liability or creditor problem exists, not after the event has already occurred.
• Ownership structure matters.The presentation examines how real estate and other assets are titled and why placing multiple properties or assets inside the same entity can affect exposure when a claim arises.
• A living trust and an asset-protection trust serve different purposes.Verdon distinguishes conventional revocable living trusts used in estate planning from structures designed specifically to address creditor exposure.
• Real estate requires particular attention.The discussion covers rental properties, personal residences, LLC ownership, mortgages, tenant-in-common ownership, and other issues that can affect how real estate is held and protected.
• Estate planning and asset protection can overlap.The later portion of the presentation explores irrevocable trusts, estate and gift tax planning, multigenerational planning, and structures intended to preserve flexibility while transferring assets.