A process of protecting your assets in a framework that is legal, efficient and ethical. It is not about avoidance of liability, hiding or committing fraud. It is all about risk management. You have planned protection for your homes, cars, personal property, health and life. What protection is in place for your net worth?
To gain full protection of the law the planning should be comprehensive to provide complete protection for all assets. They should be done within the context of other planning (Estate, Retirement, Business and Investment Planning) to maintain a legiti¬mate purpose.
If you are one or a combination of the following categories asset protection plan¬ning is appropriate and necessary for your well-being:
• Net worth of $250,000 and above
• Highly visible in the community
• Have employees
• Professional liability
• Have children
• Own a home
Through structuring your personal assets and business assets you can reduce the possibilities of having your wealth eroded by:
• Litigation- the goal is to defer lawsuits and promote settlement for limits of the insurance coverage in place.
• Confiscation-the goal is to contain payment of unnecessary fees and taxation to investment firms and the government.
• Catastrophe Events-the goal is to protect assets from disaster events (disability, death and long-term care) that lead to loss of financial well-being.
Implementation of a plan after a potential problem occurs is of no use. The time to implement protection is now.