And Why You Should Make Sure You Are Asset Protected

What an open question it is to ask: What is Asset Protection?

Has anyone asked you that question before? If not you are like 99% of the rest of the American public who are also not asset protected.

Core asset protection revolves around protecting yourself from future creditors who can sue you typically for negligence.

My definition of asset protection is different than anyone else in the country. My definition is:

“Asset protection is protecting your wealth from anyone or anything that can take your money.”

Who does this include that you normally have not thought of before?

• The US and State Government through income taxes
• The US and State Government through estate taxes
• The stock market when it declines
• Medical expenses like the inevitable long term care expenses everyone will have in retirement.
• The US and State Government through capital gains taxes

Think about it, who is your number one guaranteed creditor every year? The US Government.

When the stock market in 2000-2002 went in the tank, did you lose money? Is that more likely to happen in any given year than a lawsuit?

When clients pay $4,500 a month to stay in a nursing home, does that expense decrease their family’s wealth?

Same question for estate taxes and capital gains taxes.

If there were simple and legal ways for you to lower your income taxes, invest in the stock market where you could receive the gains without fear of losing principal in down markets, if you could mitigate your long term care costs, if you could defer or avoid capital gains taxes when selling an appreciated asset, wouldn’t you want to know about those solutions?

Those are just some of the topics I’ll be talking about in my periodic newsletters. In addition to that I consider myself a “domestic” asset protection planner and will be educating you on how to use domestic planning strategies for asset protection.

Summary

If you have any amount of wealth, you do need asset protection. Asset protection can be simple or complicated, expensive or not expensive. Your eyes will be opened up to the liabilities that could cause you to lose your money to creditors and the tools to protect yourself. When you become educated on the concept of global asset protection, then you can decide what, if anything, you need to do to protect yourself and your family.

Regards,

Bob J. Baker
Asset Strategies, LLC
www.assetstrategiesonline.com

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© 2008 Asset Strategies, LLC