Hi, this is Mark Woodward your straight-shooting advisor. In this edition of the KANA Private Wealth Group Wealth series we are going to discuss how to protect wealth. When we speak of wealth we are generally speaking of assets, or things you own. The protection of assets involves using various strategies to guard them against loss. That loss can come in a variety of ways.
- Property & Casualty-This type of insurance is designed to protect physical assets from loss due to accidents or natural disasters. Examples would be homeowner’s insurance, auto insurance, flood insurance and general umbrella insurance policies to protect against certain liabilities.
- Health-While it is not a financial or physical asset, your health and your ability to work and earn a living is one of the biggest assets you have. Certain insurances are designed to protect against health-related losses. Disability insurance protects your family from loss of income due to a disabling accident or illness. Life insurance protects your family from loss of income due to your premature death. Medical insurance helps to offset costs related to maintaining your health. Long-term care insurance helps protect assets from being used up due to an assisted living need.
- Titling/Ownership of assets-The manner in which you own some assets or more specifically, who or what owns the asset can protect it from various losses. Homestead exemptions, where available, can protect your primary residence from creditors and taxes. You should use company/organization sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s or 403(b)s where available as they provide creditor protection. Re-titling assets into Revocable or Irrevocable Trusts can protect them depending on the type of assets and the protection goal. Business owners should incorporate or use LLCs or LLPs as appropriate to segregate personal and business assets.
- Advanced strategies-certain permanent life insurance policies can provide tax-free asset accumulation in addition to a death benefit. Annuities provide tax-deferred asset growth and can also protect assets from loss in certain circumstances. There are other advanced strategies that are typically used for business owners and/or high net worth individuals. Some of these include company owned life insurance or COLI, structured optimized life insurance or SOLI, cross-purchase agreements funded with permanent life insurance and Captive Insurance Companies.
Regardless of the type of asset you own there is usually a way to protect it in some manner. If you have questions or concerns about how to protect your assets, please call me and remember at KANA Private Wealth Group we put your family first!
Disclosures: The S&P 500, NASDAQ and Dow Jones Industrial Indices are unmanaged groups of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general. You cannot directly invest in these indices. Using asset allocation as part of your investment strategy neither assures nor guarantees better performance and cannot protect against loss of principal due to changing market conditions. Rebalancing assets can have tax consequences. If you sell assets in a taxable account, you may have to pay tax on any gain resulting from the sale. Please consult your tax advisor. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney or tax advisor with regard to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. KANA Private Wealth Group is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS. https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures