Asset Protection Built for Modern New York

Almost never. Transfers made after a claim is threatened or filed are vulnerable as fraudulent conveyances under NY DCL Article 10. The statute of limitations runs four years from the transfer (or one year from discovery), giving a creditor a long window to unwind the structure. Effective asset protection is pre-claim — built years before any threat materializes.

No. New York does not authorize self-settled DAPTs under its own law. A New Yorker who wants DAPT protection must establish the trust under the law of a permissive state (Delaware, Nevada, South Dakota, Alaska, or Wyoming) with an institutional trustee in that state. New York courts will generally honor the choice-of-law clause absent fraud or public-policy violations.

Largely yes. ERISA-qualified plans (401(k), 403(b), defined benefit) enjoy a 100% federal anti-alienation shield. Rollover IRAs preserve the unlimited federal protection. Contributory IRAs are protected up to $1,512,350 (2024) under federal bankruptcy law and CPLR § 5205(c) provides additional New York protection outside bankruptcy. Inherited IRAs are not protected post-Clark v. Rameker.

Tenancy by the entirety is a form of joint ownership available only to legally married spouses in New York, applicable only to real property. Each spouse owns 100% of the property; neither can convey without the other; and creditors of one spouse alone cannot reach the property. Joint creditors of both spouses can reach it. The protection ends at divorce or the death of either spouse.

Under CPLR § 5206, the homestead exemption is $179,975 in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam counties; $149,975 in Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Orange, Saratoga, Schenectady, and Ulster; and $89,975 elsewhere in New York State. The protection applies to the principal residence and runs against unsecured judgment creditors — not mortgages, tax liens, or mechanic's liens.

Generally yes — a properly structured and properly operated LLC limits liability for business debts and tort claims to the assets of the LLC itself. However, single-member LLCs in New York receive less protection than multi-member LLCs because a creditor of the sole member can in some cases foreclose on the membership interest directly. Multi-member LLCs and Series LLCs are stronger structures.

Before you need it. The whole architecture depends on transfers being made well before any claim arises. For a physician, that often means before residency ends. For a business owner, before the company has meaningful value. For a high net worth investor, immediately. By the time a claim is on the horizon, most planning options are foreclosed by fraudulent-transfer rules.

The IRS has unique collection powers and asset-protection trusts generally do not defeat federal tax liens. A divorcing spouse is subject to DRL equitable distribution, and a court can in many cases unwind a transfer made during the marriage. Asset protection works best against unsecured commercial and tort creditors — not against the IRS, not against an ex-spouse, and not against a criminal restitution order.

In a DAPT established under the law of a permissive state (Delaware, Nevada, South Dakota), yes — the grantor can be a discretionary beneficiary while still receiving creditor protection after the situs state's statute of limitations runs. In a domestic New York-law trust, no — a self-settled trust does not shield the grantor under New York law.

Under NY DCL Article 10, a creditor may bring a fraudulent-transfer action within four years of the transfer, or one year after the transfer is discovered by the creditor, whichever is later. This long window is one of the reasons asset protection must be built well in advance — a transfer made shortly before a claim arises is exposed for years.