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David And Goliath.

By John Dietz - Email Editor - Editor Bio

Date : 23-Jan-2007

Dear Subscriber:

I recently returned from an intense conference, sponsored by the Heckerling Institute at the Miami School of Law. I like to pay attention to the trends and changes in the industry.

The Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning is the nation’s leading conference for estate planning professionals. The program designed for sophisticated attorneys, trust officers, accountants, insurance advisors, and wealth management professionals provides state of the art principles and legal research in estate planning.

Estate planning is a very complicated legal subject and requires constant attention to updating one’s knowledge in the areas of law applicable to estate planning. Lack of attention to the constant changing taxation laws causes nightmares and headaches that do not go away. The complex arena of tax reform and wealth preservation amidst a Congress with other priorities is just one of the pitfalls.

Many recent cases show that we must pay attention to the changes that affect our wealth protection. Maintaining wealth, protecting assets and passing money to further generations is a sticky business. Improperly implemented plans are sure to cause headaches. To implement a good plan, I think it is important to look into the power structure that governs the decisions that ultimately determine the parameters of your wealth.

Sometimes we feel like we go through the motions, same old, same old. In reality, if you keep an eye on the debate in the financial arena, things change every year in personal finance and business. Financial options seem to be dwindling, as laws become more stringent. Weeding through the complexities is almost as futile as David throwing stones at Goliath.

Qualified people are not enough to cut through this David and Goliath; the subject of Asset Planning requires constant, continuing education. It takes an up to date professional to structure a plan that meets all the laws and regulations and how you understand the exceptions.

Rob always speaks of beginning your plan when the seas are calm. We get many clients who call us when the financial seas are beginning to swell. The question is, “Can I protect my assets through bankruptcy?” The thinking that you can tough it out for seven years is contrary to good philosophy of Asset Protection.

Bankruptcy cases filed in the federal courts tumbled in fiscal year 2006 according to the news release from the U.S. Courts. According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts filings for fiscal year for the 12-month period September 30, 2006 fell 37.6 percent to 1,112,542, from total filings of 1,782,643 in FY 2005. Business bankruptcies for FY 2006 fell 20.1 percent to 27,333 to 34,222 business bankruptcies filed in FY 2005.

I was happy to bring twenty two hundred and fifteen page volumes of current information analysis back to TrustMakers so that we could begin our analysis for application to our clients.

There was plenty of discussion over recent cases where the court decisions were rendered against the estate’s desires and needlessly put the families in a world of hurt. Interestingly enough, many of the teaching professionals at Heckerling concluded that the outcomes of these cases were decidedly wrong. This brings us full circle to good Asset Protection and wealth preservation.

This is why you need a check up and not just from the neck up; you need a total body check up. Your entire estate must provide protection that is not outdated. Ask yourself this question: Has a recent case affected my estate plan?

We all need Asset Protection!

Until next time,

John

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ABOUT THIS EDITOR:

John Dietz is a strategic advisor at Trustmakers.com with a passion for client solutions that can encompass your business, your real estate, and your personal assets. Mr. Dietz serves to educate you on the latest in asset protection planning.

Full Bio - Email John