A new year means new financial changes for many of us, and there may be challenges that come. In order to make sure your wealth is kept as secure as possible in 2019, you’ll want to implement a variety of tried and tested strategies. These will help safeguard your assets while maintaining profitability over the course of the next year.
Set a Goal
One of the first things to do in the new year to safeguard and expand your assets is to create an investment policy statement. This statement simply outlines what your investment goals are for 2019 and what methods you’ll use to achieve them. If you’re not sure where to start, consider talking to an asset protection attorney to determine where your investment portfolio’s weak points are and what you might do to improve your situation.
Setting this goal will help you keep on course and avoid making unwise investment decisions over the course of the next year.
Diversify
Having a diversified portfolio is key to any investment strategy. Diversification helps you get the most out of your investments while also safeguarding your assets. If something should go wrong with one area of your portfolio, you’ll have other areas to recoup the loss and maintain profitability.
This is especially true with real estate equity. Rather than hold all of your equity under one name (and especially your own), try to divide it up between multiple entities to keep it more secure.
Review Your Estate Plan
Reviewing your estate plan should be something you do every year, and 2019 is no different. Given the changes in gift tax and estate limits made last year, your estate plan will almost certainly need some revisiting to make sure your wealth is handled wisely.
Changes in your family or financial situation may also require alterations to your will and estate plan. If one of your children is getting married in a few months or if there was a divorce in the family last year, there will be a need to review your will and make sure your wealth stays in your family.
Increase Retirement and IRA Contributions
It’s generally a good idea to increase your retirement contributions. If you are employed, you should try to match your employer’s contributions and add a little extra whenever you can. This will help you build up your retirement faster and ensure that your wealth is kept as secure as possible. Depending on the situation, your wealth will often be better off in an IRA than in your own personal account.
Seek Guidance from an Asset Protection Attorney
Changes in laws, markets, and individual financial scenarios can interact in complex ways, and the methods you use to keep your assets safe from loss and excessive taxation will need to evolve. A good asset protection attorney will be fully up to date on recent changes, and their experience will provide you with the tools you need to keep your wealth secure.
Hart David Carson LLP provides skilled asset protection and estate planning services to Illinois residents. When revisiting your asset protection plans for 2019, contact us to guide you through the process.