As a general statement, many who earn a good living and/or have amassed wealth, do not have the proper legacy or asset protection plan.
The following are statistics about the more affluent general public when looking at a group of ten.
- 1-2 will NOT have a simple will
- 5-6 will NOT have Durable Powers of Attorney
- 5-6 will NOT have marital living trusts
- 9-10 will NOT have a Family Limited Partnership (FLP)
- 7-8 will NOT have an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT)
This information provided by the Wealth Preservation Institute.
I feel the need for legacy planning documents seems obvious. You may need a will and other applicable estate planning documents, that may address minor children etc. You may also need durable powers to make sure the living spouse or other loved ones do not have to go to court to make life sustaining decisions or to sign legal documents for someone who is incapacitated. Living trusts may be needed to help maximize legacy tax exemptions and avoid probate. FLPs may be needed to centralize governance of family assets and discount the value of the legacy for legacy tax purposes. An ILIT can be used to pass the death benefit to your heirs’ legacy tax free or tax reduced.
Regardless if you have the above tools in place, you might need a checkup.
What about asset protection planning?
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you have real estate owned in your own name?
- Do you own stocks or bonds in your own name?
- Do you have significant equity in your personal residence and do not live in a state like TX or FL which asset protects the home’s value?
- If you have a boat, wave runner, snowmobile, plane, etc., are they owned by a multi-member LLC?
If you answered no to any or certainly most or all of the above questions, you are in serious need of a checkup with one of our legacy planning attorney business referral partners.
What about protection from stock market losses?
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Are you invested in assets at risk to stock market losses?
- Did you lose 25%-60% of your invested assets when the stock market crashed from 2007-March of 2009?
- Do you have money growing in wealth-building tools that will never go backwards due to stock market losses?
If you answered yes to the first two questions and no the last two questions, you should contact our office at (573)-315-4600 for a checkup and to learn about the wealth-building tools you can use to reach your financial goals with the least amount of risk.