How Do I Protect My Assets? Start By Making Good Decisions
Over the years I've given lectures about various topics in financial planning across areas spanning from business planning to estate planning to building a tax-efficient investment portfolio. One of the most popular items on people's minds always seems to be centered around estate planning and asset protection. Think about all of the billboards you see in Alabama. Or the rest of the country for that matter. Creditors, predators, in-laws, and out-laws all want their slice of the pie, it seems. Sadly, it's the American way now. You can understand why people want to do everything in their power to not only maximize their wealth but to protect it from the aforementioned parties that are seemingly out to get it.
In terms of sheer asset protection, one of the things I do for all of my clients is review their current personal legal documents and asset protection strategies. Most people think because they just updated their will or trust last year that they are all set and exempt from this discussion. That couldn't be further from the truth. The reality is MOST trust documents I read are terrible and need to be completely redone. I think what sets my process apart from everyone else is I do an exceptional job of first understanding WHAT my clients truly want and then COMMUNICATING this with qualified counsel to make their documents actually reflect their wishes. Don't want your twelve-year-old to receive millions outright upon reaching adulthood? Don't want your ex-daughter-in-law taking her half of the family wealth before leaving the family? I have these conversations on a weekly basis with my clients. Worried about getting sued? We can set up trusts and corporations, and then make sure your Ts are crossed and your Is are dotted. Of course, we can add another layer of protection with a multi-million dollar liability insurance policy because many creditors will simply seek an easy settlement from your insurance company. That’s all well and good. The reality is we can do all of these things to build you a strong financial plan, but there is one thing I talk about at every lecture that is not written about in ANY of the Financial Planning textbooks that certainly SHOULD be and must be discussed here: GOOD DECISION MAKING.
I absolutely cannot build a financial plan that will shield you from poor decisions. If a customer slips and falls or you rear-end someone, that is one thing. If you drive drunk, brazenly cheat on your spouse, start a fight on gameday, slander someone's name behind a keyboard, find yourself on the wrong end of a viral video for foolish behavior, or willfully cheat and deceive people, a good plan can only protect so much. And I wish I could elaborate more on this, but the subject is self-explanatory. Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, two of the wealthiest men to ever walk the earth, lost substantial fortunes to their ex-spouses in recent years. Kanye West, Donald Sterling, Henry Ruggs, Michael Vick, the list goes on and on. So again, my best advice to any reader who wants to protect themselves is this: MAKE GOOD CHOICES AND BE A DECENT PERSON. There are no do-overs in life. If you can just start by making good decisions, the asset protection odds will always be in your favor.
