Asset protection planning looks different depending on your life stage and relationship status. If you're single or in a relationship but not married, some common strategies won't apply to you. But you're also in a better position to plan than you might think.
This is an ideal window to act—before property becomes commingled, before marital claims exist, before someone else has legal standing over what you've built. Whether you plan to marry eventually or have chosen not to do so at all, understanding your options now creates flexibility later.
This post covers what unmarried physicians should know about the Domestic Asset Protection Trust, including when it makes sense and how to plan on your own terms.
You're Not as Safe as You Think
There's a misconception that avoiding marriage means avoiding the legal entanglements that come with it. That's not always true. Physicians are targets. People know what physicians earn, and that visibility creates exposure, regardless of your relationship status.
Consider a situation currently working through the courts involving a physician in Colorado with a long-term girlfriend. They lived together and had a child. Now, she's claiming a common law marriage and seeking half his assets even though they were together just three years and he never proposed. The case hasn't been resolved, but the claim alone creates years of legal exposure and expense, even though they never even became engaged.
The point isn't to create fear about relationships. It's to recognize that legal claims can arise whether you marry or not. Planning ahead, when you're clearly single and there are no competing claims, is the cleanest path to protection.
The Strategic Advantage of Planning Now
Being unmarried is actually an ideal time to establish asset protection structures.
No spouse means no marital property considerations and no commingled assets to untangle. You have full clarity about what's yours and the ownership structure for your assets. If you get married later, assets already held in a trust are clearly separate property. In an asset protection trust, they are not even legally yours and, therefore, are not a part of your estate.
You've protected pre-marital wealth without needing a prenup conversation. The prenuptial agreement, in fact, is generally of little use. The trust predates the relationship, so no one can reasonably claim it was designed to exclude them.
This matters more than it did in the past. In some markets, prenuptial agreements are becoming harder to obtain. In Denver, for example, many attorneys have stopped drafting them. The divorce rate is high enough that they're frequently called to testify about the agreements they drafted, and the contract fees don't justify the ongoing obligation. The practical reality is that a DAPT established while single is unassailable and, therefore, is more effective than a prenup obtained later.
If you stay unmarried, the structure supports that choice. You can name partners, family members, or anyone else as beneficiaries on your own terms. You maintain control while providing for the people you choose.
Planning now keeps options open. Waiting until marriage or divorce limits them.
More information here:
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Benefits of Not Being Married Legally [Pros and Cons]
When Does a DAPT Make Sense?
A Domestic Asset Protection Trust, or DAPT, is an irrevocable trust where you fund it and can also benefit from it. In Wyoming, for instance, we have self-settled trusts. This means you can transfer assets to a trust, manage those assets through a private family trust company, and then receive the benefit of your efforts in either compensation or distributions or a combination of the two from the trust.
This is unusual in most states, because they do not recognize self-settled trusts; thus, you cannot access the assets once placed in trust. That would defeat the purpose of asset protection, since if you can access the assets, so can creditors in states that do not allow self-settled trusts. But 17 states have passed laws that specifically allow this structure while still protecting the assets from future creditors. Courts across the country have recognized these trusts, far exceeding the 17 states with dedicated DAPT legislation. I'm aware of unpublished opinions in states like New York and New Jersey, with more emerging regularly.
The threshold question is whether this DAPT structure makes sense for your situation.
In my experience, clients with less than $2 million in net worth may find that this strategy adds more complexity than it's worth. If you're a professional with a net worth exceeding that threshold and meaningful assets beyond what's already protected through retirement accounts, homestead exemptions, and insurance, a DAPT warrants serious consideration.
For unmarried physicians specifically, DAPTs become relevant because marriage-based strategies aren't available. You can't rely on a spouse to hold assets. You also cannot use tenants by the entirety, a form of property ownership that protects assets from creditors of one spouse and is available only to married couples. A DAPT provides protection that those approaches do not supply.
Several factors increase the relevance of this planning: high-risk specialties with greater litigation exposure, significant real estate holdings, business ownership, and family wealth that spans generations. The more you've accumulated and the more of that accumulation sits in exposed categories, the stronger the case for an irrevocable structure.
Conversely, DAPTs are not universal solutions. Early-career physicians still building wealth typically don't need this level of complexity. These structures require legal fees to establish, ongoing administration, and careful compliance. They're appropriate when the protected value justifies that investment. But start early and gain the protection before you think you need it.
Generally, the cost of setting up a DAPT ranges from $18,500-$25,000. It could be more depending on the complexity of the assets you own. For example, the transfer of stock and bank accounts would generally be encompassed within the foregoing fee. A transfer of real estate would not since it would involve engaging a third party to prepare and file the deed.
The Reality of Malpractice Claims
Divorce may be the more common threat, but malpractice claims are uniquely devastating when they occur.
When a patient outcome goes wrong, grief transforms people. The family members pursuing a claim are in pain, and that pain makes them aggressive. They can go after everything you own, not just policy limits.
Physicians understand malpractice insurance. What they don't always plan for is that insurance has limits, and plaintiffs' attorneys know exactly how to structure claims that exceed those limits. A $1 million policy isn’t as helpful when someone is pursuing a $5 million claim.
A DAPT is the perfect defense against a malpractice claim. Assets held in the trust are not legally yours. They're not part of your estate, so a plaintiff can't reach them. The structure doesn't eliminate the claim, but it does contain the damage.
The probability of a catastrophic malpractice judgment is very low. However, if it happens, you're facing the kind of exposure that can end careers and destroy generational wealth. A DAPT may significantly reduce the impact of an above policy limits judgment.
Why Wyoming?
Wyoming offers several advantages. The most significant is the statute of limitations, which is the time between funding the trust and when assets become protected from future creditors. Wyoming's waiting period is 90-120 days under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 34-14-210(b), the shortest available in any domestic jurisdiction.
For comparison: Nevada and South Dakota require two years under NRS 166.170. Delaware requires four years under 12 Del. C. § 3572. A physician funding a Delaware DAPT on December 1, 2025, would wait until 2029 for full protection. The same physician using Wyoming would be protected by mid-2026.
Wyoming also has no state income, gift, or inheritance taxes, which simplifies ongoing administration. The state's trust statutes include strong spendthrift provisions under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 4-10-504(g), and
Wyoming has developed specialized expertise within its court system for trust-related matters. Specifically, if an issue involving the trust is initiated, Wyoming law seals the proceedings to keep them out of the prying eyes of the public.
Most importantly, you set up a private family trust company (PFTC) to manage your DAPT. You manage the PFTC and, indirectly, the trust through your management position in the trustee. This substantially reduces administrative time delays and expenses.
Finally, Wyoming residence is not required. The trust needs Wyoming status, typically achieved through a Wyoming-based trustee and proper structural elements, but the grantor can live and practice anywhere.
The Timing Problem
The most sophisticated asset protection structure provides no benefit if implemented too late.
Before any adverse event, all options remain available. Transfers made as part of normal planning, with no claims on the horizon, face no fraudulent conveyance challenges. This is ideal.
After a problem surfaces but before formal legal action, the window narrows. Action may still be possible, but scrutiny increases and options decrease. After a lawsuit is filed or a creditor claim becomes formalized, meaningful asset protection transfers become essentially impossible. Courts will void transfers made to avoid known creditors.
For those considering marriage, there's an important timing consideration. If you're engaged or actively planning to marry, establishing a DAPT becomes more complicated, but you have time if you act right away. Once you're married, moving assets into a DAPT means moving them out of your marital estate, which can constitute a fraudulent transfer. The cleanest time to establish these structures is before marriage is on the horizon.
The difficulty with most people is that they wait too long to implement these systems. In one case study from my practice, a physician with a $20 million net worth waited five years before acting. No lawsuit, no creditor threat; it was just inertia. The cost of that delay exceeded $560,000 in state income taxes alone.
I wish I had known about these things 40 years ago, but they didn't exist. If they had, life would have been so much easier.
More information here:
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Planning for Unmarried Couples
If you're in a long-term relationship without marriage, the planning considerations shift. You're not only protecting assets but also deciding how to provide for a partner who has no automatic legal claim to anything you own.
What Married Couples Have That You Don't
Married couples have built-in protections that unmarried couples lack entirely. Tenants by entirety is a form of property ownership where each spouse owns 100% of an asset, making it unreachable by creditors of just one spouse. It's available only to married couples in 25 states and the District of Columbia. Surviving spouses have automatic inheritance rights even without a will. Spousal transfers allow married couples to move assets between themselves with minimal tax friction.
Unmarried partners have none of these defaults. Without explicit planning, a surviving partner inherits nothing regardless of the length or depth of the relationship. That's not an oversight. It's simply how the law treats unmarried couples.
Revocable vs. Irrevocable Trusts for Couples
For unmarried couples, understanding the distinction between revocable and irrevocable trusts matters because they solve different problems.
A revocable trust solves the “who gets my assets” problem. You can name your partner as a beneficiary, specify exactly what they receive, and change the terms if the relationship changes. This is essential when there's no spouse with automatic legal claims. But because you control the assets, creditors can still reach them. A revocable trust provides no asset protection.
An irrevocable trust, including a DAPT, solves the “who can take my assets” problem. You give up control on the surface, which is what creates protection. For unmarried couples, this can serve a dual purpose: protecting assets from creditors while also providing for a partner through structured distributions.
Choosing to Remain Unmarried
If you've chosen to remain unmarried intentionally, a trust supports that choice. You get estate planning and asset protection benefits structured on your terms, without the legal entanglement of marriage. The arrangement reflects your actual wishes rather than state defaults that don't apply to your situation.
You can name your partner as a beneficiary with specific terms. You can provide for them during your life and after your death. You can structure access and control however makes sense for your relationship, something the law won't do for you automatically.
Choosing to Get Married After You’ve Established a DAPT
The asset protection trust acts as the most effective prenuptial agreement you can have, with 36 states recognizing the efficacy of those trusts in divorce proceedings (i.e., your interest in the trust is not a marital asset since your interest is not a property interest by statute).
If your spouse has a separate estate, he or she should also establish an asset protection trust to protect that spouse’s financial well-being.
The Bottom Line
Being unmarried gives you clarity. You know what's yours, you have no competing claims, and you have full control over how to structure protection.
But being unmarried doesn't make you safe. Physicians are visible targets, and legal claims, including relationship claims, can arise whether you marry or not. The best protection is the planning that happens before any claims exist.
For single physicians, the advantage is simplicity: establish structures now, before marriage or relationships complicate ownership. For unmarried couples, the task is more specific: create intentionally what marriage would otherwise provide automatically. That means inheritance rights, asset protection, and clarity about what happens to your wealth.
The threshold for considering a DAPT is generally a net worth exceeding $2 million with meaningful exposed assets. Wyoming's four-month statute offers the fastest domestic protection available. And timing matters: the best planning happens before you need it.
Whether you marry eventually or don't, planning now creates options. The structures you establish today can adapt to whatever comes next.
Have you used a DAPT? What did you think? Was the expense of creating the trust worth it? What else can DAPTs provide?