Uncategorized

What are Asset Protection Services?

Asset protection services exist to help place your assets in a position where they are all but untouchable by those you do not wish to have access to them. In the world you live in, one that’s rich with dangers and potential financial pitfalls, protecting your assets and wealth is more important than you may realize – whether you have a large sum of assets or not.

What Risks Impact Your Assets?
Most people are surprised to learn about the wide range of risks they face when it comes to securing and protecting assets. These risks include:

• Unemployment
• Disability
• Death
• Age
• Health
• Divorce
• Retirement
• Layoffs
• Injury
• Medical Expenses
• Litigation
• Judgments
• Legal Expenses

The list goes on and on. There are hundreds of risks, large and small, that place your assets at risk every day. That’s why it’s so important to consult with a financial planner or accountant that has experience providing asset protection services.

How Can You Protect Your Assets Through Asset Protection Services?

First and foremost, consider using asset protection services from a professional experienced in protecting wealth and assets. Asset protection services involve a blend of financial planning and insurance using such specialists as CPAs, attorneys, estate planners, insurance experts, financial planners, and/or asset protection specialists.

Careful financial planning is the most important thing you can do to protect your assets now, and in the future. This is putting your head together with a professional who specializes in asset protection services, developing a plan to manage your existing assets, accumulate future assets, minimize risks, and sustain growth over time. Important tools in your arsenal for your goals of financial growth and asset protection include insurance, proper planning, and attention to detail.

Insurance

There are many types of insurance products on the market today. There is insurance coverage that protects your assets themselves. There is also insurance coverage that protects you from liability in the event that someone is injured by or on one of your assets. There’s even insurance to cover liability related to professional services you offer. In other words, there’s a type of insurance for many different contingencies and you should carefully consider which types of insurance serve to best protect your assets today and in the future. Having adequate insurance, however, is an asset protecting contingency that must be covered. Other insurance to consider includes medical insurance, loss of income insurance, life insurance, and disability insurance.

Financial Planning

Financial planning includes components designed to reduce your risks, increase the value of your assets, and sustain growth as time goes by. it involves estate planning, wealth protection, tax minimization strategies, and wealth recommendations to maximize return. It’s important to work with qualified financial planners with specific experience in asset protection services for this critical task.

You want to know that your future is protected and assured. One way to increase that likelihood is by taking steps today to protect your assets and wealth for the long term by considering the use of asset-protection professionals. Life takes unexpected turns all the time. You can rest much easier knowing that you’re covered for most of the contingencies that could ever come your way.

Cost segregation is the process of identifying your assets and classifying those assets correctly for the purpose of paying federal taxes. In this process, personal assets that are mixed with real property assets are separated out, so all assets can be depreciated properly and potentially increase your bottom line.

Cost Segregation Studies
A cost segregation study is performed to determine which assets can be claimed as personal property instead of real property. These items usually include indirect construction costs, non-structural elements of buildings, and exterior land improvements.

By separating these assets, they can be depreciated over a shorter term which will reduce your current income tax liabilities and increase cash flow. This decreased depreciation period is typically between five and fifteen years instead of the twenty-seven and a half to thirty-nine years for non-residential real property.

For example, items such as carpeting, wall paper, parts of the electrical system, and even sidewalks and landscaping all qualify for the shorter depreciation periods.

Eligibility and Advantages of Cost Segregation
To be eligible for cost segregation, a building must have been purchased, remodeled, or constructed since 1987. This method of tax reduction is best used on new construction, but it can be used retroactively on older buildings as well.

Beyond the benefits of reduced tax liability and increased cash flow, a cost segregation study will provide your business with an audit trail of all costs and asset classifications. This will help put to rest any unwanted inquiry from the IRS in its early stages. Finally, during this process, you may identify possible ways to reduce your real estate tax liabilities as well.

While there are some costs associated with performing a cost segregation study, as long as the assets in question are valued over $200K, it’s worth the time and expense to complete the study and categorize these assets correctly.

Small businesses often capitalize on their less formal, more personal, approach to their customers and clients. While there is nothing wrong with this approach in general, it should not extend to business agreements and legal matters. On the contrary, a small business should insist on reducing all agreements to writing just like their larger counterparts do.

Regardless of what type of small business you own, chances are your customers or clients are drawn to the fact that you are able to provide more personalized attention without the need for them follow inflexible procedures or goes through three different people before they can speak to someone who can help them. The informality of your business, however, should stop there.

Unfortunately, disputes occur in all businesses. Whether it is a dispute with a supplier, an advertiser, a customer, or a landlord, it can-and most likely will-happen at some point in time. When a dispute arises, documentation is the key to settling the dispute. If your dispute ends up in court the law always favors a written agreement over a verbal agreement. Having the agreement in writing to begin with, however, creates an excellent chance that you will be able to resolve the dispute outside of the courtroom.

Many disputes are the result of honest misunderstandings. A smaller percentage of disputes are the result of unscrupulous individuals trying to take advantage of new, potentially naïve, small business owners. Either way, having a written agreement that clearly outlines the terms and conditions of your business with an individual or company ensures that you are prepared to defend yourself should a dispute arise for any reason.

As a small business owner you are likely working with a very tight budget and are therefore hesitant to spend money on legal fees charged to draft agreements. While this is certainly understandable, you should look at written agreements as a type of insurance. A relatively small outlay of funds now will protect you from a much greater expense down the road. If a dispute arises and you have no written agreement to back up your position there is a much higher probability that the dispute will turn into a lawsuit. A lawsuit, in turn, will require you to hire an attorney. Your attorney fees to defend a lawsuit will be substantially higher than they would have been to draft a written agreement that could have prevented the lawsuit.

You have undoubtedly worked hard to get your business off the ground. By insisting on written agreements in all of your transactions you are helping to protect your investment and ensuring the future success of your business.

How to Boost Your Credit Score

Rebuilding a falling credit score or attempting to boost your credit ahead of a major purchase, such as a home or automobile, is important. The good news is with attention, focus, and discipline, it can be done. Unfortunately, it’s not usually a lightning fast process. Boosting your credit score will take some time – generally it can take at least six months for small bumps up, and even longer for large increases.

Negative items on your report such as delinquencies and collections take seven years to remove from your report. Tax liens and bankruptcy, on the other hand can take anywhere from 10 to 15 years to eliminate. Even credit inquiries when you’re shopping around for loans will remain on your credit report for up to two years.

Fortunately, there are practical ways for you to boost your credit even if you have a history of delinquencies, tax liens, or even a bankruptcy.

Pay Your Bills on Time

This may be the single most important thing you do to boost your credit score. Daily Finance reports that timely payments accounts for as much as 35 percent of your total credit score.
Make it a priority even if it means setting up payment reminders.
Pay Down Revolving Credit Balances

Another positive thing to do for the sake of your credit score is to pay down credit card balances to 10 percent or less of the total credit available to you. This lets creditors know that you’re not spending recklessly and that you’re able to manage your debt.

Eliminate Small Credit Card Balances
If you don’t need to spend money on six credit cards it’s better to pay off the remaining balances and stick to one or two primary credit cards for purchases. Keep the other accounts, but operate without a balance on the cards.

Maintain Aged Accounts with a Good Payment History
If you’ve paid off the balance and have a good credit history with the card or loan, it’s wise to keep this on your record as a indication of positive credit behavior.

Stay Below Credit Limits
The combination of paying your bills on time and staying below your credit limit can account for more than 50 percent of your credit score, so it is wise to reduce your spending below your credit limits to boost your credit score.

Correct Clerical Errors
Request a copy of your credit report and inspect it closely for errors. This includes the reporting of your credit card limits, as an understated limit here can impact your credit score negatively.

The Federal Trade Commission offers advice on correcting credit report errors in their Disputing Errors on Credit Reports brochure.

Boosting your credit score, even a little, can help you get lower interest rates on future loan.

This is particularly beneficial for big-ticket items like homes. These small steps will help you do just that.

[View Article List]