Do You Need an Estate and Asset Protection Planning Check-Up?
As a general statement, most of the general public who earn a good living and/or have amassed wealth, do not have a proper 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 an LLC
*Statistics provided by the Wealth Preservation Institute
The need for estate planning documents is obvious. You need a will, especially if you have minor children, to make sure the appropriate people receive custody of the children in the event of a terrible accident killing both parents. You 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 are needed to maximize estate tax exemptions and to avoid probate. LLCs are needed for asset protection, to centralize governance of family assets, and discount the value of the estate for estate tax purposes (for larger estates).
If you do not have the above-mentioned tools you need a check-up.
What about protection from lawsuits?
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 an asset protection check-up.
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%-50+% of your invested assets when the stock market crashed from 2000-2002, 2007-2009, or in the 2020 crash?
- Do you have money growing in wealth-building tools that will never go backward due to stock market losses?
- Do you have money growing at a 5-6% guaranteed rate of return* (non-walk away value) that will be used to generate a guaranteed income for life that can never be outlived?
If you answered yes to the first two questions and NO to the last two questions, you should contact our office for a check-up and learn about the unique wealth-building tools you can use to reach your financial goals with the least amount of risk.
What about protection from long-term care (LTC) expenses?
Most people are unprepared and will pay for their LTC expenses out of their own pocket. This is not good planning!
If you would like our firm to outline and help you with your asset and estate planning needs, help you growth your wealth in the least risky manner possible to meet your financial /retirement planning goals, and make sure your future LTC expenses are covered, please e-mail info@echelonwealth.com and request to speak to one of our qualified advisors.
*Any guarantees mentioned are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company and may be subject to caps, restrictions, fees and surrender charges as described in the annuity contract
What is Your Personal Risk Score?
