| Asset protection | | | | Kingdom and the advocate/civil law notary split in |
| The extent to which the debtor is willing to pursue | | | | France. In California, for example, bar certification is |
| asset protection is important in determining the | | | | offered in family law, appellate practice, criminal law, |
| appropriate strategy. The debtor has two asset | | | | bankruptcy, estate planning, immigration, taxation and |
| protection choices: (i) do nothing and stand to lose all | | | | workmen's compensation. Creditors do not pursue the |
| asset protection when the plaintiff becomes a creditor, | | | | residence itself, but the equity in the residence that can |
| or (ii) engage in some asset protection planning. Study | | | | be converted into money through a foreclosure sale of |
| participants considered the existence of an | | | | the residence. |
| unambiguous hierarchical system of allocating public | | | | Assume that a creditor obtains a judgment against a |
| money, with well-described responsibilities, authorities | | | | debtor in New York and would like to enforce the |
| and a separation of power at each level of | | | | judgment against the debtor's assets. The |
| decision-making an asset. | | | | promulgation of an extensively financed program |
| The creditor will be unable to domesticate its judgment | | | | where partners fail to share program vision may |
| in Saint Vincent, and will usually be unable to litigate its | | | | create problems in achieving program targets. If the |
| case de novo in Saint Vincent. Some states provide | | | | creditor can seize a sufficient percentage of the |
| criminal penalties for (1) falsely holding oneself out to | | | | shares, the creditor will acquire control of the |
| the public as a lawyer, and (2) the unauthorized | | | | corporation and access to the corporation's assets. |
| practice of law by a non-lawyer. Today, a non-lawyer | | | | Some creditors may stop trying to collect when they |
| can take and pass the patent bar, but he or she would | | | | realize that there is no equity in the residence. Asset |
| be considered a patent agent. | | | | protection began to develop as a stand-alone area of |
| Many other common law jurisdictions, as well as some | | | | the law in the late 1970s. There is no "magic bullet" |
| civil law jurisdictions, have a separation, such as the | | | | asset protection strategy; different structures are used |
| solicitor and barrister/advocate split in the United | | | | to protect different types of asset protection. |