Protecting Assets from All Creditors

This is the first in a series of in-depth articles on asset-protection planning.

Most asset protection gurus believe asset protection for doctors revolves around helping clients protect their money from the “typical” creditor in a

. For a doctor, the typical creditor is his or her patients.

negligence suit

In next week’s article I will discuss how to use domestic asset protection tools to protect your assets from patient creditors. Domestic asset protection revolves around the use of LLCs and FLPs.

While it is true that doctors need to protect their assets from their patients, there are many other creditors out there clients need to be protected from (ones that are more likely to take your money each year than a negligence lawsuit).

What follows is the introduction to the topics that will be discussed in greater detail in the following series of articles.

and state government (if applicable

IRS

)

The IRS is everyone's number one guaranteed creditor every year. Every year high income doctors pay taxes to this creditor. Would you like to pay $15,000, $50,000, $100,000-plus less in income taxes this year? Absolutely. There are several tools available to help you reduce your taxes.

The stock market

You know this is the case if you had money invested from 2000 to 2002 when the stock market lost

of its value.

nearly 40% of its value and again when the stock market crashed between 2007 and March of 2009 when it lost 59%

Think about it: did you lose money from 2000 to 2002 and again in 2007 to 2009? Absolutely. Would you like to position your money in wealth-building tools with good potential for growth and still principally protect all or the majority of your money? Would you like to earn a

you can never outlive? I’m sure most readers would.

(accumulation value) over a 10-20 year period coupled with a guaranteed lifetime income

7% to 8% guaranteed rate of return

Estate taxes

Clients with wealth all worry about the estate taxes that will be paid upon their death. Few advisers truly know “advanced” estate planning and ways to mitigate estate taxes. Without a proper estate plan, you can literally be set up to give millions of dollars to the government instead of to your heirs.

Long-term care (LTC) expenses

The number one guaranteed creditor of clients over the age of 65 is LTC expenses: drug costs, home health care, nursing home, surgeries, etc. It is vitally important for clients to protect themselves from this guaranteed expense.

Most clients do not like the idea of paying an LTC insurance expense because it is seen as a waste of money if you don’t use it. But there are ways to receive a “free” LTC benefit with certain wealth-building products in the marketplace.

Summary

All doctors need asset protection. Unfortunately, many do not choose to take the time to be proactive to protect their wealth and those that do only protect their assets against patient creditors (not the creditors listed above). It is my goal with this series of articles to educate and motivate readers to take proactive steps to protect their wealth from all creditors.

Intro | Part 2 |

Read more:

Divorce Issues

Roccy DeFrancesco, JD, is the author of

, and founder of The Wealth Preservation Institute. The DWPG has recently been approved for is approved for up to 21 AMA PRA Category 1 CME Credits™. If you would like to purchase the book at a

The Doctor's Wealth Preservation Guide

as a benefit of being a reader of Physician’s Money Digest so you can earn CME credits in the comfort of your home, email

33% discount

info@thewpi.org

.