You have worked hard for the wealth that you have accumulated. You want to protect your assets from all the hazards that can cause you to lose some or all of it. When you are young you may not worry much about wealth preservation, even if you suffered a loss, you would have time to recoup before you reach the age when you will need your wealth to maintain your current lifestyle. It is never too early, however, to develop wealth preservation strategies. If you carefully take a few strategic steps you can go a long way toward preserving your wealth for not only yourself but for your beneficiaries and heirs.
Insurance
Life Insurance needs to be a part of your wealth preservation strategy. In a financial world where most things are variable, life insurance has a guaranteed value. Not having to worry about a loss in value is a big advantage when it comes to planning for your financial future. Most life insurance has a set cost per year so there are no surprises to deal with. The benefit will be paid in cash which will avoid fees and taxes for your beneficiaries or with a whole life you can cash in the policy while you are still alive, also tax-free.
Buy/Sell Agreements
A buy/sell agreement is an important document that any business owner should have. It is especially important if you have partners but it does have value for a sole proprietorship as well. With a well-crafted agreement in place, you can't be forced into staying in a business when you would rather leave. The conditions for the dissolution or the buyout have been defined and you are protecting your investment in the business.
Wealth Transfer
One of the biggest dangers to your wealth preservations strategies is taxes. How you design your wealth transfer makes a big difference in the amount of taxes that are paid. Before you can create a plan that works for the benefit of both you and those you want to transfer to, you need to answer a few questions.
- Who: Who are your beneficiaries? Is it family, a charity or someone else?
- What: Exactly what are you transferring?
- When: Do you want to wait until you are deceased or do you plan to make gifts during your lifetime?
- How: Do you want to make an outright gift or is a trust the right avenue for you?
Discussing all these answers with your financial expert will make it easier to come to a decision that is the right one for all parties involved.
Your wealth is your security and preserving it can give you peace of mind that your future is safe and sound. The experts at Chandler and Knowles CPA firm can help you to create your wealth preservation strategies or if you have already begun to organize your plan they can look at what you have done and share their years of experience and expert advice. Everyone likes to think that they have done everything right but talking to the experts can put your mind at ease that you have done all the right things to make sure you will be secure for a lifetime.