By: Dr. Tamara Patzer
October 12, 2026
In brief: The more visible a person’s success, the more likely someone is to test it. A New Orleans tax and estate attorney explains how ownership structure, layered protection and clean records work together, and why protection that looks like hiding fails, using current federal data on where wealth sits.
A famous name opens doors. It also draws attention from people who want something, whether a partner with a proposal, a stranger with a complaint, or a lawyer with a theory. The more visible the success, the more likely someone is to test it. Todd M. Villarrubia, a New Orleans attorney who focuses on tax and estate planning and wrote Entrepreneurial B.E.A.S.T. Mode™, treats that attention as a planning fact and not a surprise. His approach is to build protection in advance, in the open, and to document it.
Where Does the Wealth Actually Sit?
Mostly with a small group. The Federal Reserve’s distributional accounts, reported through FRED, show about $60.3 trillion of net worth held by the top 1% in the second quarter of 20261. The Tax Foundation, using IRS data, found that a filer needed about $676,000 of adjusted gross income in tax year 2023 to be counted among the top 1% of earners2.
Those numbers set a context. A person with a public profile is often assumed to have resources, whether or not that is true. That assumption is what the book has in mind when it describes how claims arrive. In the author’s words, “Plaintiffs do not seek fairness; they seek deep pockets.” It is a harsh sentence, and it is a fair warning that a visible person may be sued simply for being visible.
Does Protection Mean Hiding?
No, and this is the point most people get wrong. The book says it directly: “Asset protection isn’t about secrecy or hiding assets.” Moving property out of sight, or transferring it once a claim appears, tends to fail and can make matters worse. Courts and creditors look closely at timing and motive.
Real protection is built early, when no claim is on the horizon, and for ordinary reasons. Assets are held in entities that match their risks. Records are kept. Insurance is adequate. Transfers are documented and made for legitimate purposes. That is a very different thing from vanishing.
What Does Good Structure Look Like?
The book offers a short rule: “The principle is simple: separate entities for separate risks.” A person with a public career might hold a home, an investment portfolio, a business and a licensing arrangement in different places, so that trouble in one does not automatically reach the others. The details depend on the person and the state, and a licensed attorney should design them.
Villarrubia also stresses that no single device does the job. “An LLC is merely a tool; it is not a comprehensive strategy.” A company that exists on paper but is run like a personal account will not protect much. The habits matter as much as the filings: separate accounts, written agreements, regular records.
Why Is Layering the Better Idea?
Because each layer covers a different gap. The book describes protection as something built and maintained: “Asset protection is not a one-time purchase; it is an architectural discipline.” Insurance covers some claims, entities limit how far others can reach, and good records support both. A person who relies on only one is exposed when it fails.
There is a second benefit, which the book names in a line worth remembering: “Asset protection not only defends against lawsuits but also deters them.” A claimant who sees a clean structure, adequate insurance and careful records may decide that a case is not worth the cost.
What Does the Family See?
Often a surprise. The Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, released October 9, 2026, reports 2025 median family net worth of $215,900 and a mean of $1.24 million3. A well-known person’s finances are usually far from the median, and their family may not know the details. If something happens, the family has to find out quickly what exists, who holds it and who to call.
That is why the estate side belongs in the same conversation. The IRS lists $15,000,000 per person as the federal basic exclusion amount for 20264. Many public figures are well below it, and some are above it. Either way, the documents need to be current and findable, and the family needs to know where the advisers are.
How Should a Public Person Start?
With an inventory. List what you own, in whose name it is held, what it is insured for and who knows about it. Ask an attorney to compare the pattern with your public profile and your risks. Ask whether the entities you have are classified and maintained correctly. Ask your insurance adviser whether the limits fit your visibility.
Then plan for the conversation nobody wants. Who acts if you cannot? Who speaks to the press, the advisers and the family? Where are the documents? The book describes planning as ongoing, and a yearly check keeps the answers current.
What Mistakes Should a Public Person Avoid?
Three are common. The first is acting only after a claim arrives, when options are narrow. The second is copying a friend’s structure without asking whether it fits. The third is treating privacy and protection as the same thing. A person can be private and unprotected, or public and well protected. The aim is the second.
How Should a Public Person Talk About This with Advisers?
Plainly, and early. Say how visible you are, what you own, who depends on you and what worries you. Ask each adviser how their work fits with the others. A person whose public profile is large often has an assistant, a manager or a publicist who sees parts of the picture. Make sure those people know what they should and should not share. A short written set of rules for staff and vendors is part of protection, and it costs very little to write and maintain.
Common Questions
Can a structure stop all lawsuits? No. Nothing can. A good structure and good insurance reduce exposure and can discourage weak claims.
Is it too late if I am already being sued? Possibly some options are limited. Seek legal advice from a licensed attorney, and do not move assets on your own.
Do I need a family office? Not necessarily. Many public figures do well with an attorney, a tax professional and an insurance adviser who coordinate.
Sources
1. Federal Reserve Distributional Financial Accounts, Net Worth Held by the Top 1% (FRED)
2. Tax Foundation, Who Pays Federal Income Taxes? Tax Year 2023
3. Federal Reserve Board, press release on the 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances
4. Internal Revenue Service, What’s New: Estate and Gift Tax
About the author. Dr. Tamara Patzer is a publisher and former newspaper editor. She was on the staff of The Charlotte Sun when it was named a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for its Hurricane Charley coverage.
About the source. Todd M. Villarrubia is an attorney with an LL.M. in Taxation and a Juris Doctorate. He is an Accredited Estate Planner, a Board Certified Expert in Estate Planning and Administration, and a Fiduciary Investment Advisor Representative. He is the author of Entrepreneurial B.E.A.S.T. Mode™. Wealth Planning Law Group, 101 W. Robert E. Lee Blvd., Ste 404, New Orleans, LA 70124. Phone: 504-982-8207; email: todd@lawealthplan.com; website: lawealthplan.com
Disclaimer: Attorney advertising. Sponsored feature written on behalf of Todd M. Villarrubia. This article is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Results vary.
