Asset Protection Planning in Maryland
If you are searching for an asset protection program in Baltimore or an asset protection trust lawyer in Glen Burnie, start with what Maryland law permits. A trust you fund for your own benefit does not shield you here, and a plan built after a claim appears invites attack. What works is narrower and must be in place first.
We serve clients in Baltimore and across Anne Arundel County through Brandon Northington, who is admitted in Maryland and the District of Columbia.
What Maryland law protects, and what it does not
Married couples have a Maryland-specific tool. Property held as tenants by the entirety is immune from the separate creditors of either spouse, and Estates and Trusts § 14.5-511 preserves that immunity inside a trust if the spouses stay married, both are beneficiaries, and the trust or deed states that the section applies. The trustee must prove the immunity in a dispute.
For rentals and operating businesses, Corporations and Associations § 4A-607 makes a charging order the exclusive remedy of a member's creditor against an LLC interest. The creditor collects distributions only, though unless otherwise agreed a court may order foreclosure of the economic interest if distributions will not pay the debt in a reasonable time.
Statutory exemptions are modest. Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 11-504 protects $500 in a bank account, $1,000 in household goods, $5,000 in tools of a trade, and $6,000 in cash or property (inclusive of the account) if elected within 30 days of the attachment or levy. Retirement plans listed in § 11-504(h) have no dollar cap. Timing limits everything else: under Commercial Law § 15-207, a transfer made with actual intent to hinder, delay or defraud present or future creditors is fraudulent.
Entireties Trusts for Spouses
We draft and fund trusts that carry the § 14.5-511 immunity, including the recital the statute requires and the terms that keep protection in place.
LLC Structures for Rentals and Businesses
Separate entities for separate risks, with operating agreements that address charging orders and transfers.
Trusts for Family Members
Irrevocable trusts for children or a spouse, where benefit and control really move. We tell you when a structure would leave you reachable.
Exposure and Timing Review
A review of retirement accounts, titling and existing claims before any transfer, so planning is not mistaken for a fraudulent conveyance.
Does Maryland allow an asset protection trust that I fund and benefit from?
No. Under Estates and Trusts § 14.5-508, a revocable trust is reachable by the settlor's creditors during life. For an irrevocable trust, a settlor's creditor can reach the lesser of the claim or the maximum that can be distributed to or for the settlor, spendthrift clause or not. Protection comes when you give up the benefit, as with a trust for children or a spouse.
Can I protect my home from creditors in Maryland?
Ownership matters more than a program. A home held by spouses as tenants by the entirety, or in a § 14.5-511 trust, is shielded from one spouse's separate creditors, though not from a debt both owe. In bankruptcy, the residence exemption in § 11-504(f) is capped at the 11 U.S.C. § 522(d)(1) amount, as adjusted.
Is there an asset protection program in Baltimore or Anne Arundel County?
Asset protection is not a county or government program. Maryland's statutes apply the same way in Baltimore, Glen Burnie and across the state. A plan is a set of documents chosen for your assets: entities, titling, a trust where it fits, and beneficiary designations.
Is it too late once I have been sued or threatened?
For transfers, usually. A transfer made after a claim surfaces invites a challenge under Commercial Law § 15-207. We do not take planning aimed at defeating an existing creditor, but we can review the exemptions and retirement assets Maryland protects by statute.
Facing an asset protection question in Maryland?
The first consultation is confidential, and we respond within one business day. Tell us what you own and what you want to protect it from.