Estate Planning and Real Estate in 2026

Real estate is often the biggest part of a family’s wealth, so it deserves careful planning. Estate planning for property is not just about who gets the house or rental when you die. It is also about protecting those properties from lawsuits, creditors, and other surprises during your lifetime.

Why Real Estate Asset Protection Matters

If someone is hurt on your rental property, or a dispute leads to a lawsuit, everything you own in your name could be at risk. That may include your rentals, your home, and even other personal assets. Asset protection planning aims to separate your “at‑risk” properties from the rest of your wealth and to make it harder for creditors and others to reach them, while staying fully within the law.

Six Practical Ways to Protect Your Properties

Common tools for real estate owners include: 

1. Strong insurance: Landlord and umbrella policies can help cover injuries, property damage, and some legal claims. 

2. LLCs: Placing each rental in its own limited liability company can help keep a problem with one property from spreading to everything else you own. 

3. Trusts: Holding your property in a properly designed trust can add privacy, support asset protection, and make it easier to pass property to heirs without probate. 

4. Risk reduction: Careful tenant screening, clear leases, and using licensed, insured contractors can reduce the chances of a claim in the first place. 

5. Debt and equity planning: Keeping only a modest amount of visible equity in a property can make it a less attractive target for lawsuits. 

6. Homestead and other exemptions: In many states, certain equity in your primary home and some other assets receive extra protection under state law.

LLCs in Other States and Long‑Term Planning

Some people look at Nevada or Wyoming LLCs for extra privacy or legal benefits. However, the law of the state where the property actually sits usually controls, so an out‑of‑state LLC may not give as much protection as advertised. Asset protection also overlaps with wealth preservation: using trusts and other tools can reduce taxes, avoid probate, and make it easier for your heirs to manage and inherit properties.

If you own rentals or other real estate and want to protect both the property and your family, Sammartino & Sultan can review your situation, explain your options in plain language, and help design a plan that fits your goals.

About the Author

Leslie has been practicing law since 2009 and is the host of the estate planning podcast 'Legacy Purse'. She has a long history of representing family members struggling to inherit property and/or wealth from deceased family members through the Probate Courts. Knowing how time-consuming and expensive the probate process is, Leslie takes great pride in helping her clients learn how to plan and protect their families during their lives so they can avoid the probate court process and save their loved ones that additional grief (and expense).