Who needs an asset protection plan?

When you were a kid, Halloween candy was a hot commodity. You probably spent hours and hours developing elaborate plans to protect your asset, i.e., your candy. You put some under your bed. There was another stash in your sock drawer and another in your closet. Little did you know that you were doing what is known as asset protection in financial circles. 

Fortunately, a CFP® professional can help you find legal ways to protect your financial assets before they’re even at risk, and there are many people who should be developing an asset protection plan. 

What is asset protection?

Asset protection is a lot like the plan you made to guard your candy after Halloween. It is a specific financial service provided by a financial planner, and it is a series of strategies that help you protect your sources of wealth from creditors. Some of the most commonly used asset protection strategies include: 

• Asset protection trusts.
• Family limited partnerships. 
• Accounts receivable financing. 
• Limited liability corporations. 

A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ can help you choose the asset protection strategies that fit your personal and business needs best. 

Who should talk to a CFP® professional?

Waiting until someone tries to go after your assets is not the time to start protecting those assets. In fact, it is illegal to do so. You should have a custom asset protection plan in place long before that happens. This is especially important if you are: 

• A medical professional — Anyone can make a mistake. However, medical professionals who make a mistake could be open to legal action, and this can result in people coming after your assets. Medical practice partners or owners can even be liable for problems that involve one of their employees. For these reasons, medical professionals should seek help from a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. 

• A business owner or partner — Debts, mortgages, damage caused by employees and customer-protection issues are all challenges that business owners have to deal with. Any of these issues could lead to the loss of business and personal assets. However, an asset protection plan for your business and personal assets can help mitigate your losses. 

• Someone who has financial assets — Anyone who has assets could be at risk of losing them for innocuous reasons. Your teenager could get into a car accident and injure someone. Such a commonplace incident could set off a chain of events that ends with your losing many of your personal assets. Having the foresight to put an asset protection plan in place can reduce the risk to your financial assets when you or a child are liable for an accident or injury. 

Talk to a ProVise CFP® professional about an asset protection plan

At ProVise Management Group, our CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals can get to know you and your current financial circumstances, goals, risk tolerance and personal values to help you develop a plan that works for you. We can also create a written plan for you at a fiduciary standard of care. All our written plans come with an unconditional money-back guarantee. If you are unhappy with your written plan, you can return it to us, and we will refund 100% of the fee paid.

Are you ready to talk to a CFP® professional about asset protection? Contact ProVise today to schedule a complimentary consultation.