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There may be a sizable portion of Americans that make up the Procrastination Nation and many of them are small business owners. Somewhere in the thought process of a procrastinator lies the assumption that there is plenty of time to do proper planning. Where did they get that idea? After all, time waits for no one and life just happens. Failure to act is as egregious as your business experiencing a major theft. The only problem with failing to act is that you are the one who is culpable.
Asset protection planning cannot be retroactive after an event. When something disastrous occurs, your life, your family and your business can be affected for years, if not forever. Asset protection planning is the forgotten part of financial and estate planning that can cost you everything you own. Asset Protection is best analogized to “net worth insurance” and like insurance you have the best, most effective and legally supportable options available to you when you implement the planning before a crisis exists. Transfer of assets into plans after you have specific exposures is costly, ineffective and in some cases illegal (fraudulent conveyance) if used against a pre-existing liability. The best time to act is always now, and every day that passes makes your planning stronger and likelier to provide the intended result.
Thinking you’re not rich enough is another flawed tributary of thought often bolstered by professionals, lawyers, CPAs and financial advisors. These advisors often tell clients that they are not rich enough to do any planning and that they should have a net worth north of five or even ten million dollars to consider it. Nothing could be further from the truth, especially if you are in the “Fall” of your earning career. Of course high net worth individuals must implement this kind of planning, and have historically done so, but all you have is important to you and there are precautions that can be taken at any net worth level. Whether you can lose tens of thousands or multi millions, if it affects your business and family lifestyle, then asset protection planning matters.
Much of the content in this press release was taken from Ike Devji’s article Common Flaws of Asset Protection Planning with permission.
