It’s been nearly a year in the making, but the Asset Protection Society is now up and running and this is the inaugural e-newsletter.

You may be asking yourself, what is the APS™, why would you want to receive e-newsletters from the Society, and why would you want to become a member (or a “Rated” advisor).

The APS™ is a new kind of society which:

1)   Has a duty to protect the public from misinformation.

2) Issues “Ratings” to Advisors so the public will know what level of knowledge/skill advisors have in their local area.

3)  Provides a forum for advisors looking to ‘better the industry” and exchange ideas on complicated topics.

The Society was formed by a handful of like-minded advisors who believe strongly that “no estate or financial plan can be complete without incorporating asset protection planning.”   Think about that for a minute.

-If you are an attorney and help clients with their estate plan, by not incorporating asset protection into the estate plan, the client’s assets are at risk from creditors.

-If you are an insurance agent or financial planner that sells cash value life insurance and/or insurance or annuities, in many states one or both of the assets are not protected from creditors.

-If you are a money manager or stock broker, did you know that when a client owns their brokerage account in their own name it is subject to creditors?

–CPAs/EAs/accountants have all of a client’s information when doing tax returns and typically do not understand that 99% of clients do not have their assets protected from creditors.

The Society was formed because there is no governing body dealing with the topic of asset protection. Currently, advisors of all kinds (attorneys, insurance agents, financial planners, mortgage brokers, and CPAs/EAs/accountants) are touting themselves as asset protection planners when in fact they are not and do not understand how to help a client implement a compliant asset protection plan.  The end result is that thousands of clients each year are receiving bad advice (usually at inflated costs) that will not work to protect their assets.

In an effort to protect the public, the Society has a system to “Rate” advisors so the public can find an advisor in their local area who has knowledge on asset protection planning.

The Society was formed to be a place where advisors of all kinds could come together and share ideas so that the best information on asset protection planning can be disseminated down to the members.  When thousands of advisors share ideas, it’s a terrific way to make sure everyone is up to speed on issues in real time so the best advice can be given to clients.

The Founders of the Society believe that by becoming a member, you will not only get access to terrific information and a unique message board, but you’ll be making a statement to your clients that you are not the same type of advisor as your competitors.

We welcome you to this newsletter and you should feel free at any time to give feedback to the Society so it can become the best it can be.

Global Asset Protection Planning

Here is the APS™ definition of “global” asset protection:

“Global asset protection is protecting a client’s wealth from anyone or anything that can take their money.”

While clients certainly should protect their wealth from traditional creditors, ask yourself the following questions:

-Are your clients more likely to pay income taxes this year or be sued for negligence?

-Are your clients more likely to lose money in the stock market over the next five years or be sued for negligence?

-Are your clients more likely to pay sizable amounts for health care expenses after they retire or be sued for negligence?

-Are your clients more likely to pay capital gains taxes on the sale of a highly-appreciating asset or be sued for negligence?

-Finally, is it more likely that a client’s overall estate will be reduced by estate taxes at their death or have the estate reduced in size because of a negligence suit?

If the answers to the above questions are all true, then why does everyone talk only about protecting assets from the typical creditor which arises out of a negligence lawsuit?

Good question and it is one of the reasons the APS™ was created, to set a new standard of care for those who want to be or currently consider themselves asset protection planners or “gurus.”

In upcoming newsletters the APS™ will discuss how you can help clients (and yourself) protect assets from the typical negligence creditor, but also from downturns in the stock market, from the IRS (saving on income, estate and capital gains taxes), long-term care expenses, health care expenses, and more.

We welcome input from advisors who want to help this Society be the best it can be.

We also welcome you to surf the APS™ website to learn more and consider joining as a member or becoming a “Rated” advisor.

To date, the APS™ has recruited over 40 State Representatives and we are actively looking for like-minded advisors who want to become part of the Society on a local level.  Our goal is to have five state representatives in each state (and more in larger states like TX, FL, NY, CA, etc). Ideally we’d like at least one attorney, one CPA/EA/account, one mortgage broker, and one financial planner or insurance agent in each state.  If you would like to download a PowerPoint presentation about becoming a state rep. please click here.

Again, welcome to the APS and look for follow up newsletters.

Sincerely,

The Founders of the Asset Protection Society

Jim Duggan, JD, MBA

John Dietz, CWPP, CAPP

Roccy DeFrancesco, JD