The vast majority of family businesses don’t have any kind of asset protection plan in place. This is unfortunate because without an asset protection plan set up, families, their life savings and the businesses that support them, are at risk of being destroyed in the event of a lawsuit.
Whether the lawsuit is frivolous or not doesn’t seem to matter. Even a successful defense against a lawsuit could be costly enough to bankrupt a company even if the business owner wins the lawsuit in the end.
Asset protection strategies will help keep your finances and family business safe
Asset protection strategies for businesses include the application of legal solutions and risk management products like insurance to minimize the liability exposure of a company and its owners. These strategies will help make sure that the financial wealth of a family is not taken through legal proceedings.
Here are a just a few things that can help families protect their wealth in this regard:
- The purchase of liability insurance: There are many types of liability insurance that could apply to a particular business.
- Disassociation of one’s personal wealth and personal assets from that of the business: This could be done by setting up a limited liability corporation (LLC).
- The use of so-called “captive insurance companies:” These are wholly owned subsidiaries of the company that’s being insured. They offer risk-mitigation services to the parent company or to a group of associated companies. Captive insurance companies can provide tax savings and more affordable and better coverage for the cost.
Business asset protection: A sophisticated type of planning
All business owners, and especially family business owners, may want to consider the use of business asset protection planning. These plans are often created in conjunction with a business owner’s estate planning due to the fact that there will often be some level of overlap between the two plans. If you’re a family business owner, make sure you consider the business asset planning solutions that could apply to you and your family’s situation and needs.