5 Common & Costly Estate Planning Mistakes Northbrook IL

Let's talk about the 5 most common Estate Planning mistakes that can annihilate your business and Personal Finances.By: Alan Orlowsky

The honest unvarnished truth is that the vast majority of business owners and individuals fail to take simple precautions and preserve their personal and business wealth. Regardless of the value of your assets, they can be protected from unforeseen or even foreseeable  business and personal risk. Catastrophe may occur unexpectedly and can annihilate even the best run business and personal financial portfolio. Many businesses today are implementing "Asset Protection Planning Strategies" that will insulate their economic interests from events beyond their control that could otherwise lead to economic annihilation! As a practicing attorney with over 25 years experience, I have witnessed firsthand how little or not asset protection can lead to catastrophic results. With the use of basic asset protection strategies you can avoid the pitfalls of financial ruin.
Here is the 5 most common asset protection planning mistakes I see individuals and business owners make:

1) Failure to legally separate business from personal assets.

This mistake is made all the time and allows a business creditor to attack the personal assets of a business owner and his or her spouse. Many business owners erroneously believe they are protected by their companies shield when in fact they are not. Avoid this mistake and you just might avoid a personal Waterloo.

2) Failure to have or maintain required corporate legal records.

Time after time I see business owners who fail to expend the resources to create and maintain their corporate records. People are notoriously pound wise and penny foolish and just don't want to expend the time or finances engaging an attorney. In the long run failure to do so can lead to economic devastation. You only need good and up to date corporate records in order to protect your business, and sometimes your personal assets.

3) Failure to hire a good attorney.

Failure to hire a good attorney to navigate you through a virtual maze of rules and regulations is like rafting down the Amazon River in an inner-tube! Again, I have seen "Do it yourself" business records, contracts and paperwork lead to huge financial problems. I advise my clients that it is always more cost effective to hire me on the front end and prevent a legal problem, then to hire me later to fix it.

4) Unnecessarily having a spouse take on business liability exposure.

It is not an honor to be an officer or director of your spouse's company.....but in fact it is an obligation! Involvement in your spouse's business exposes you to lawsuits  bank obligations and worst of all, Federal and State obligations. Such exposure also violates one of my most sacrosanct rules.....Keep Marriage Our of Business!


5) No Estate Planning.

There is no easier way to ruin your Family's future than by failing to have a Will and Trust and the planning that accompanies them. There can be huge business and personal problems caused by an unplanned death. A few examples are:

• Forced Sale of a business to a surviving partner
• Loss of income for surviving family members
• fighting among siblings for control of family assets
• squandering a lifetime of your hard work 
• Government involvement and taxes

If you have a business, investments and a family and you wish to protect against the harsh realities and consequences of an unforgiving world, you must engage in at least the basic asset protection strategies that are available. Nobody can go it alone, so you will need to fire trained professionals to build the firewalls required in a risky and unpredictable world.

If you have questions about this post or about a particular legal situation, please contact Alan Orlowsky by calling 847-325-5559 or visit our website: http://www.orlowskywilson.com