There are several strategies which will protect your investment money and rights, especially when the business investment is a little shaky or a bit of a long shot.  If you have received a prospectus or are interested in making an investment in a potentially lucrative and high risk venture it is prudent to separate your investments from your personal holdings.  The experienced asset protection and business attorneys at the Watkins Firm are prepared to review your opportunities and help to structure the appropriate entity or contractual protections that will keep your personal assets safe.

Taking an interest in a San Diego business or corporation is often a prudent risk, but you should consider a few steps to protect your assets while investing.  Investing in a business venture may require a separate business entity.  Even if you are investing as an individual, or if you intend to take part in a partnership or joint venture it may be prudent to consider the establishment of an LLC or other business entity in order to separate out the associated risks.

It is especially important to protect your investment money and rights as a minority shareholder.  California laws provide additional protections for minority shareholders.  However, majority interests often use bullying tactics and other questionable or unlawful tactics to reduce your earnings or the value of your position.

Our attorneys will work to make sure that all contingent liabilities are separated from your personal home, holdings and wealth so that a poor outcome doesn’t affect anything further than the investment you are willing to place at risk.

Seeking the counsel of experienced and expert attorneys helps to protect your assets and investments while providing additional insight into opportunities which might generate a substantial return.

Pro-Tip: “For example, we’ve had so many shareholder fights where a company group of friends or a group of friends who know friends, maybe 30 people invest in a company and it’ll be doing well, but not great. And the investors, the shareholders won’t be receiving disclosures, or they will be receiving them, but they sort of don’t add up.

And then they do an investigation and they come to some law firm like ours and they say, well, let’s, let’s get in there seeing the books and records and you get some pushback from the company. And that’s when all the hairs in your neck stand up and you come to the Watkins firm and we file a motion.

And we discover through our due diligence that the company’s doing very good and that they also formed an offshore corporation of the same name. And they’ve taken all the assets and they’re all driving Rolls-Royces. So this has happened more times than I can say, because it just does happen. Nobody fights over anything unless there’s money involved. If it’s just doing okay, they would tell the truth and say, it’s all great. But if that big money offer comes in the door and they have a way of, of keeping it for themselves, it’s very tempting for human nature to turn that down.

You also want to make sure the corporate veil of the entity you are investing in separates your personal money and assets from the debts and obligations of the company you are acquiring or investing in.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner

We invite you to review our podcast Episode 14 – Shareholders Rights as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.

We will discuss the venture you are considering, your current financial positioning and holdings and develop a customized plan to protect your investment money and rights, and separate out your personal holdings from your business opportunities.  We will help to ensure that appropriate due diligence is completed and transactional facts are verified before you put your hard earned money at risk.