Do You Need an Estate and Asset Protection Planning Checkup?
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by: MattCBA
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While this may sound incredible, most affluent and successful people, including most doctors, (even those who earn $300,000+ a year or those who have amassed $1,000,000 or more in assets) do not have a proper estate plan or asset protection plan.
Here is what I have learned over years of doing seminars for doctors. (The numbers below are out of a group of 10 attendees.)
1-2 will NOT have a simple will
7-8 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)
8-9 will NOT have an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT)
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. FLPs are needed to centralize governance of family assets and discount the value of the estate for estate tax purposes. An ILIT is needed to pass the death benefit to your heirs estate tax free.
If you do not have the above mentioned tools you need a checkup.
What about asset protection planning? Ask yourself the following:
Do you have real estate owned in your own name?
Do you own stocks or bond 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, waverunner, snow mobile, plane, etc, are they owned by a multi-member FLLC?
If you answered no to any or all of the above questions, you need a checkup.
What about tax planning? Ask yourself the following:
Are you paying too much in income taxes?
Do you have highly appreciated real estate or stocks you would like to sell but don’t because of the capital gains taxes?
Have you had a review of your qualified retirement plan (if you have one) since the Pension Protection Act was passed (which makes it easier to put more money away tax-deferred for business owners while minimizing contributions for staff)?
If you answered yes to 1 and 2 and/or no to question 3, you need a checkup.
Why isn’t your estate and asset protection plan already done?
Many doctors, and other busy successful people, do not allocate time to getting their plans in order because they are too busy, it’s too confusing or they are afraid of getting scammed or receiving bad advice.
None these are valid excuses. If you have any assets not protected from creditors, now is the perfect time to take action to protect them. Why? Because when the economy struggles, personal injury lawsuits increase. You should never be too busy to act to protect your wealth (which is also your family’s wealth) from creditors.
If you do not understand the plans offered to you by the advisors who want to help you protect and grow your wealth, do not implement them. Doctors who made it through medical school should have no problem understanding an asset protection, estate or wealth building plan put forth by an advisor. (I should know, I educate advisors on some of the most advanced planning strategies available today, but I have no problems communicating how such plans work to the doctors I work with.)
It is true that doctors are notorious for getting scammed. I’m sure everyone knows a doctor who’s either been pitched something that turned out to be a scam or one who actually invested in one. I know this will sound obvious, but if you are pitched something that doesn’t pass the smell test or sounds too good to be true, don’t buy into it.
Get started today
If you don’t think your estate plan is in order, your assets are protected from creditors or if you are you paying too much in taxes, start protecting your wealth now. For advanced planning, make sure you to do your due diligence on the advisors you work with; and remember, if it doesn’t pass your smell test, don’t bite. Life is too short to have problems with the IRS or Federal Government over a too-good-to-be-true plan.
About the Author
About Mitch Levin: Mitch Levin, MD, CWPPtm, CAPPtm, CEO & Managing Director of Summit Wealth – Florida Division, a Registered Investment Advisory firm. Summit Wealth is dedicated to “empowering investors to build, protect, and preserve their prosperity through their own Financial Fortress.” He is an “A” rated Florida State Representative of the Asset Protection Society (www.apsociety.org), and is a member of the Wealth Preservation Institute (www.thewpi.org), the National Association of Professional College Advisors (www.napca.org) as well as the National Association of College Financial Advisors (www.nacfa.com), and the Financial Planning Association (www.fpa.org.) Author, speaker, trusted advisor: Dr. Mitch is the co-author on many articles, and several other books (The Lies My Broker Taught Me; and 101 Truths about Money and Investing; and Secrets if a Worry Free Retirement), and has been featured in several educational CD’s (The Seven Deadly Investor Traps, How the Really Smart Money Invests), and in the acclaimed documentary movie “Navigating the Fog of Investing” along side several Nobel Prize Laureates. He has appeared on ABC, NBC, and in USA Today. In addition, Mitch is certified in Florida to provide Continuing Professional Education credits to Certified Public Accountants. Some of his speaking engagements include, “The Myths of Investing,” “College Funding Solutions,” “This Time is (Never) Different,” “The Affluent Survival Guide,” “Why Mutual Funds Stink,” “Why Your Insurance Agent is Costing You Tens or Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars,” “How to Prosper in the Reign of Error,” and “Your Asset Protection is Inadequate.” His clients are nice, affluent people, who actually may be furious when they discover -- too late -- the poor outcomes, outrageous and hidden fees, and unnecessary taxes they have to pay. And the excessive risks they’re taking—that’s another conversation completely. They’re bombarded with mixed, or negative, or outright fear-mongering messages. They sometimes wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. These people feel cheated Some are worried sick about the markets ups and downs… and their futures don’t look so rosy anymore. How to pay for college, retirement, eliminate their mortgage burden. They’re looking for new ideas and don’t know who to turn to. Still others are honest enough to admit they’re failing miserably in their investments, trying to pick stocks, or time the markets, or chase mutual fund track records. They would stop, but no one has the guts to provide a viable alternative, to tell them the truth, to tell them they’re wasting time while losing lots of money. They’d have a better chance at the roulette wheel, without the fun. Mitch and Summit Wealth’s mission is to “Improve the world, one investor at a time. Empowering investors to achieve Full Financial Health.” Summit Wealth delivers: Solid Growth. Safely Managed. Trusted Advice. Creating a Better Future. They help stop the financial malpractice and facilitate the cure for financial cancer. To progress from scarcity, losses, fear, and frustration to abundance and peace of mind, he provides a completely independent financial second opinion. While in medical school, Mitch was instrumental in setting up the first (and completely student financed) long-term endowment campaign through insurance and derivative products. He was recruited by then Orlando Regional Medical Center to open the first full time eye surgery practice at one of its facilities. The practices grew to several locations with dozens of employees, including several now prominent surgeons. He has lived with his family in Central Florida since 1986, and has been involved professionally in the financial world since 2005. A small business owner, Mitch has built, grown, bought and sold several other business entities. In addition, he is a successful commercial real estate investor. Dr. Mitch is a major donor to charitable organizations, and has served as an officer on several Boards of Trustees. The knowledge he gained through these experiences contributed to his personal financial success and the ability to pursue his passion of educating and assisting others in their quest for financial freedom. Contact: Mitch Levin at Summit Wealth – 866.977.2252 For more information about Mitch Levin please visit http://www.mysummitwealth.com
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