It’s a sad reality that our society seems to be more litigious than in years gone by. Thankfully, we’re not in the same parlous state as America, but there is a greater chance than before that you could become involved in legal proceedings that threaten your wealth creation efforts.

While that might seem like a scary situation, it doesn’t have to be with the right the advice and the right planning.

 

 

 

A common problem

I recently helped Stephen, a client who was worried about just that – the potential for litigation and losing his assets, as well as how to pass on assets after death because of a blended family. Estate planning for blended families has become an increasingly important issue nowadays.

Stephen had been diligent in growing both a property and share portfolio so had some valid concerns about both of these issues because there was much to protect as well as much to lose. Like so many people, though, Stephen and his wife had not received much tax planning advice prior to contacting Metropole Wealth Advisory for help. The problem with their existing structure, if you could call it that, was that any successful litigation could result in a significant loss of the wealth they had built up over the years.

Also, because of ineffective ownership structures, there were issues with paying excessive land lax as well as cash fissues stym, which were stymieing their future investment growth.

Another major issue that became apparenas we discussed their situation was that any transfer of assets into a trust (to help with estate planning as well as tax effectiveness) would trigger Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and stamp duty events, plus if the family home was transferred into a trust, they would also lose the main residence tax exemption. So, it was a bit of a lose-lose situation they had found themselves in – at least in theory.

Taking action

Of course, there are ways to overcome such problems, so I worked with Stephen and his wife to develop a strategy that would protect their wealth from litigation. I recommended an effective solution that not only protected their assets without any CGT or stamp duty implications, but also their home was protected without losing its tax exemption status as well.

Lessons learned

We then made some adjustments to limit their land tax liabilities and created a strategy that allowed for the safe distribution of assets after their passing. Very quickly I was able to t

urn around their situation from lose-lose to win-win because their wealth creation efforts were protected now and well into the future. What that meant in reality was that any initial rev

iew by a potential litigant would show a limited possibility of financial benefit, which was therefore likely to reduce the possibility of actions against them.

 

 

What can you do about this?

 

If you’re looking for independent expert advice about you your financial circumstances why not allow Ken Raiss to provide you with a Strategic Wealth Plan? Imagine the benefits having a new level of support, guidance and insights into the critical drivers of your wealth:

• Minimise Your Tax
• Build Your Wealth
• Manage Your Risk
• Create Your Legacy