There are more civil judgments than you think. To an unprepared individual, a judgment could bring devastating damage to their assets, the ability to ever get a loan again, and even loss of reputation. Courts refer to a civil judgment as a formal order to pay a particular debt, and that’s it. Even still, this kind of ruling could easily be a threat for UHNWIs and HNWIs, and it requires vigilant management.
Here at Dominion, you have the unwavering promise of uncompromised asset protection. In the event civil judgments should become a risk, our clients know every angle of their wealth defense is covered.
If you’re interested in learning more, let us walk you through our proven strategies at Dominion to take a legal step in the direction of reducing, managing, or even eliminating the impact of a judgment. Whatever the legal landscape might be, we’re here to make sure that your assets remain as secure and protected as possible.
Let’s Start with Civil Judgments
The core of a civil judgment is a decision by a court on a legal dispute that’s often (but not always) a monetary debt. Once the decision is entered, the losing party (judgment debtor) receives a binding directive to pay the winning party (the judgment creditor). This filing becomes a notation on the public record, visible and searchable as a debtor’s obligation until the balance is paid.
What Are the Consequences of Criminal Prosecution?
If you don’t address the judgment, it can have far reaching ripple effects beyond the courtroom. Judgments attract interest and possible fines, too, and they tarnish the debtor’s public record, endangering its financial stability and credibility.
Even if you don’t have a criminal conviction but do have a judgment on file, routine background checks by potential employers, landlords, and financial institutions can produce unfavorable results, making it hard to get financing, sign a lease, or maintain a professional reputation.
This is an unacceptable exposure for high-net-worth individuals. When assets or properties are at stake, creditors may accelerate collection actions to go after their judgment, employing liens, garnishments, or even other potentially invasive collection actions.
Why Proper Planning Matters
Chance isn’t part of our approach at Dominion. We know that without proactive planning, even a well fortified asset can become vulnerable in the face of a civil judgment. Properly structured asset protection protects our clients’ wealth from claimants regardless of where challenges are encountered.
It is, however, a more holistic type of defense. Designed more to protect assets rather than simply provide legal protection, the strategy places assets where they are safest, removed from unnecessary exposure to judgments. Precision is the name of the game at Dominion.
Options Legally Available to Skip Payment of a Civil Judgment
An appeal may be the best option when a judgment doesn’t reflect the facts or was the result of procedure errors. An appeal is not a retrial but a legal right to examine judgment and make sure that the errors didn’t change the outcome.
For those with huge financial exposure, an appeal can become a crucial element of your asset protection strategy. The judgment, however, is reversed only if it is subjected to careful analysis of the original judgment, convincing arguments, and if done legally and precisely. This isn’t DIY; it requires highly skilled legal counsel if you have significant assets at stake.
Requirements for an Appeal
Seeking an appeal requires adhering to some very strict criteria. The first condition is that the appeal must be filed within a stipulated deadline after a judgment is ruled – usually within 30 days. But an appeal will involve more than timing; further, the grounds for an appeal must be significant – this includes not just timing but procedural missteps, misinterpretations of law, and other legal errors.
That doesn’t mean you’ll win simply by disagreeing with a judgment. Since it is the job of the appellant – or the party appealing – to prove the case, you have to mount a comprehensive, evidence-backed case.
This stage demands expertise. In order to appeal, that person must file a “brief” that sets forth their argument, the alleged errors in the lower court, and the legal basis for reversing them.
What appellants forget is that the appeals court has no access to new evidence, only what has been already submitted. The courts decide which documents end up in your file and which end up in the wastebasket, so only a specialized attorney can create the cohesive, detailed filings necessary to get a judge to read your file with the potential to uphold your initial decision. If any of these steps are missed, you will be dismissed, and your original judgment remains.
Appeals and Asset Protection
An appeal, in itself, can be a strong countermeasure but is not without risk. If your appeal fails, the judgment stays enforceable, and your assets will be put at risk. A civil judgment can only be appealed as one part of a larger, bulletproof asset protection strategy – the kind of strategic foresight provided by Dominion.
We expertly interweave the appeals with other protections so our clients are ready for any result. That’s what you can expect from Dominion’s rock-solid approach. No oversight; just results.
Negotiating a Settlement
Appealing a judgment is often not the answer, and settling a judgment in exchange for another judgment is often wiser. You negotiate with your creditor so you can pay back less or come up with a payment plan you can handle. A settlement also prevents creditors from forcing what is known as aggressive collection, such as asset seizure or liens. Settling, which is the most rapid way to lessen the financial consequences for someone who is known to be very wealthy, will maintain the protection of that wealth.
Key Steps in Negotiating
To effectively negotiate a settlement, you must be able to clearly determine what debt you owe. Principal and interest, amount and fees… all should be scrutinized in the judgment. Once you have this knowledge, you’ll be ready to reach out to the creditor’s attorney or directly to the creditor with a settlement proposal.
Creditors usually want immediate payment, but if they feel like they’re going to get back some, if not all of the debt owed, they will often agree to a reduced lump sum payment or structured installments. After all, something is better than nothing.
Formalization of an agreement eliminates the stress of negotiation without one. There are no exceptions; this should be documented and signed by both parties before any payments are made.
Proper documentation makes that settlement binding. Being experienced legal advisors, Dominion’s clients enjoy the benefit of working with experienced law advisors who have a concrete understanding of these delicacies and hold leverage to help get beneficial terms, as much as possible to spare the financial impact to Dominion’s clients.
Dominion’s Edge in Settlements
But Dominion’s asset protection strategy doesn’t end with a signed agreement. We know how to make the terms truly protect our clients long term. Through our team of advisors and legal counsel, we take a tough road with clients during negotiations and ensure that settlements are in our client’s best interests.
Because of our reputation in the industry, we will sometimes have an upper hand in negotiations. Involving Dominion assures creditors we will honor the settlement under stringent conditions, building trust and efficiency in all of our agreements.
Using Trusts to Shield Assets
A really good way to put assets out of the reach of a civil judgment is to put them inside a legally constructed asset protection trust, notably an offshore trust. Moving assets out of direct ownership and into a trust works wonderfully to protect those assets from creditor claims.
For offshore trusts structured in beneficial jurisdictions, creditors have no easy way to find and seize assets. Domestic court judgments roll off the assets of a properly structured trust.
It’s Also Less Cumbersome Compared to Most Prenuptial Agreements
Domestic prenuptial agreements provide a degree of security that is eclipsed by asset protection trusts. While prenups are designed to protect assets in the event the marriage dissolves, a well written trust protects assets from a wider variety of legal claims, such as civil judgments.
Offshore trusts in particular are designed to offer extreme confidentiality and surety of asset protection far in excess of what can be provided by domestic agreements.
Dominion’s Jurisdictional Advantage
Asset protection at Dominion is designed with unparalleled jurisdictional reach. We are able to set up trusts in several jurisdictions, and our global network also provides our clients with greater flexibility. This means that assets themselves are kept safe no matter the shifts in legal stance in any single country.
Most of our legal advisors live in the countries we establish trusts, with invaluable local legal expertise as well as powerful ties that keep us in the know on regulatory changes before anyone else.
No single jurisdiction or legal system limits Dominion’s ability to protect offshore structures, which we are able to create and maintain. We continually watch global developments to ensure we adjust trusts and structures to prevent them from being accessed. Our jurisdictional expertise gives us the ability to take advantage of every opportunity to keep assets secure so our client’s wealth sits untouched, protected from a civil judgment.
Let’s Talk About Protecting Your Assets
If this sounds like the kind of comprehensive protection you want securing your wealth, let’s have a conversation. Schedule a consultation today so we can start planning for your money’s security.
