Connector Coaching

Faith is not always enough to Save the Day: sometimes re-evaluating how we approach things is necessary.

 

There is a famous saying: if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. Sounds logical doesn’t it?! However, when applied to our finances or business success that point of view can sometimes lead to complacency. That, as anyone knows, can spell out a slow and painful death of all we have worked hard to achieve.

 

People are so busy that they don’t take time to look around them and really notice what is happening to their financial health, life, money, retirement, assets, and taxes!

 

 Looking outside of our current list of advisors can sometimes yield unexpected results. In addition, if we begin to edge a little further out and explore some new ways of thinking or approaching an old subject something amazing can happen. We can find that what we needed was sitting here all along.

 

You want advisers that have a VESTED interested in your financial health and are in it to win it with a win / win playing field.

 

I have a long term friend of mine, whom I consider family, has elderly parents with failing health, the bills have been piling up, and their attorney has instructed them to keep their assets in their names, and let their children fight over the assets upon their death. Why do you think that is?? It is simply because the attorney will earn more money for himself by letting the assets go through probate upon their deaths, and then the heirs will be left with not only the pain of losing their parents, but the pain of paying the estate taxes, probate tax, and losing the things that they grew up with.

 

How to turn that corner is often the hardest step to make. It means acknowledging that what has worked so well in our wealth building journey for so long no longer has the horsepower to work. It means acknowledging that our financial education is a little rusty, and our long-held goal of financial independence is slowly slipping away,

 

In fact, financial freedom may have completely gone off the tracks. Avoidance of this fact is easy in the short term. Unfortunately in the long term, it will mean that our retirement has often been eaten up by shoring up our current situation or our hard won assets are now at risk.  Not such a pretty picture is it.

 

However, there is a point of view – a skill set – available to everyone who believes their family, business, retirement, assets, tax planning and every other aspect of their lives is worth protecting. It is when you recognize that you need help and that help can come in the form of an advisor or wealth building coach.  If you think of any successful sports person or team, wealthy person or business you know they have at least one top-notch coach they can depend upon.  You can have the same level of commitment as well.

 

Try looking around for the coach (and their approach) that will work best for you. Look at their references, past track record and important information that backs up all their claims. For instance, if they talk about saving money on taxes: just how much have they saved and can they prove it? How do they protect assets? What is their proposal for long term financial health for you and your family? Is it customized to YOU personally? Is it able to be implemented? Will your advisers be able to support it, and does the IRC and laws of the nation we live in support it?! All of these things are very important when choosing the right wealth building coach for you.

And now I would like to invite you to claim your Free CD at www.masterywealthtips.com From Gabby Huguenin, – A Wealth Builder, Accredited Investor, in Northern Idaho 
www.wealthbuildingdna.com

You can talk live with Gabby and Tim McGilberry CPA by calling 888-888-3612 or email: gabbysupport@gmail.com or support@wealthclasses.com

 

 

To continue a few more ideas from our Monday night’s Connector Coaching call, here are a few more thoughts on the best legal entities to consider. There’s a lot more to know about the tax advantages and asset protection features of each of these but this will give you an overview of the pros and cons of each legal entity (Check out yesterday's post for more).

Limited Partnerships – In this legal structure the partners cannot be actively involved in the management of the business. It’s important to be realistic with this. If you’re the kind of person that has to have your voice heard and you can’t avoid getting involved, this structure is not for you. Limited means limited.

If you do get involved you can lose your status as a limited partner and that opens a whole different set of issues and defeats the original intent. All income coming into limited partnerships flows through to the members, the partnership does not pay taxes.

Family limited partnerships where members are family members have some unique tax advantages.  Family limited partnerships can be used to pass tangible assets that wouldn’t normally be found in a business such as jewelry, art, heirlooms, etc. to the next generation. In limited partnerships it’s a good idea to have separate CPAs, bookkeepers and administrative functions. Downside – these can be tough to sell and costly to set up.

S Corps or Subchapter S – This is a standard corporation that has elected a special tax status with the IRS. The basic information requirements are the same as a C corporation wherein formation documents must be filed with the state agencies and necessary filing fees paid, of course. The S corp is different from the C corp in that it does not suffer double taxation like the C corp. With an S corp the profits and losses pass through to the shareholders and must be reported on their individual tax returns.

S corps also have unlimited life extending beyond the illness or the death of its owners. Stock can be sold, business expenses may still be deductible, and ownership is relatively easy to transfer. Downside – The number of owners must be fewer than 100, they cannot be non-resident aliens and all income tax obligations flow through to the individual owners.

This is just some of the material we covered in my last coaching call. Learn how you can participate in an ongoing wealth building program. Connector Coaching Program 

Limited Liability Companies or LLCs.  An LLC is a cross between a limited partnership and a corporation. You can have more than one owner. You file a 1055 tax form to do your return. From asset protection standpoint an LLC has many tax benefits. With single member LLCs you can add an S election that allows you to run it as an S corporation to get some additional advantages. An LLC limits your legal liability. Like a C corp you are only personally responsible when there is gross negligence or fraud involved. So, don’t do anything stupid and your LLC will protect you and your assets just fine!

You can have as many members as you want and you can have foreign investors. This is great when you are trying to come up with additional capital and you need flexibility in how you have structured the business. Income and losses flow to members so there is no double taxation. Great for holding real estate.

You don’t have to have formal meeting minutes like a C corporation. An LLC may protect assets better than any other structure. If you do get sued, you usually cannot lose stock to new members taking over because the current members decide who gets stock. If creditors put a lien on your interest in an effort to get paid, they may be liable for a tax on that debt. Bad for creditors, good for the LLC.

Rules vary by state so check your local laws although most states allow LLCs. Downside – Some states require LLCs to terminate at 30 years or at the death of a member but there are ways around that when structured properly.

Corporations  or C corps. A lot of accountants underestimate the tax advantages of C corporations. One big advantage of a C corp is you can control the income and you can pick the fiscal year end. Most other entities are based on the calendar. If you have a huge income influx, you can make adjustments to offset tax liabilities. You can also do what is called upstreaming income – legally shift income from your LLC to your C corp. The C corp is great to use as a financial planning tool.

Bottom line - You have time with c corps, lots of deductions and you can take advantage of many fringe benefits with minimal restrictions. The downside- lots of paperwork and double tax. You are going to be taxed on the income you draw and on the income created by the corporation.

C corp requires planning but if you are expecting higher income a C corp could be good. Use an attorney to set this up.  Again, these are just general and condensed points to consider when setting up your new business or looking for legal and safe ways to building financial freedom. Always use professional financial, legal, and tax advisors.

Andddddd... just as importantly, learn for yourself how to take charge of your wealth building strategy. Join one of our wealth coaching programs or take one of our online seminars or live seminars or workshops. Nobody cares about your financial well being as much as you do! Please feel free to leave a comment or ask a question. Just click the comment button below this post.

Have a prosperous day!


Gabby Huguenin
Wealth Coach
CEO Wealth Classes Coaching, LLC
Connector Coaching Program

888-888-3612

Learn more about our wealth building programs. Whether you make $1,000 a month or $100,000 a month, we have a financial education program you can use to start building lifelong wealth. Visit my coaching site at www.WealthClassesCoaching.com or just call me!

We had a great call last night with my students who are working to discover new ways to grow and protect their wealth. Each Monday night during our Connector Coaching Program give specific wealth building ideas and actions to help build lifelong wealth.
Here are some of the points I shared last night about setting up the right type of entity structure to protect yourself and your assets.

Having the right legal entity structure does two very important things. 

1.  Tax Advantages - When set up properly the proper legal entity gives you significant tax advantages. This is what I mean when I talk about creating a tax-advantaged environment.

2. Asset protection – This is so important into today’s litigious society. When you have assets that everyone knows about, you are inviting others to come and get them! It is your legal right to protect what you have worked so hard to earn!

Here are some of the highlights from last night’s Connector call. Key points to remember:

1. The right entity structures separate you from your business. This keeps you and your assets apart so that if one or the other has any legal challenge, your entire financial system is not at risk.

2. Sole Proprietorships are great for startups because they are low cost, simple and still have some tax benefits. There are lots of tax deductions available to this entity. This might be a good structure for a very small business where a person is a freelance writer or a network marketing rep where there is really very little risk. Downside is – very risky if you get sued. Tip - Once you start to make over 60k or so find a more protective entity and have an attorney set it up properly. Another downside to this entity is that there are over 90 million lawsuits filed in the U.S. each year and sole proprietorships are quite vulnerable.

3. The Secretary of State in each state is where you can go to begin your business name search. This is just a starting point. Business names need to be registered in the state where they reside but you will also need to begin the trademark and registration process. Just because a business name is available on a local level doesn’t mean a larger corporation hasn’t registered the name nationally. Use an attorney on this.

4. LegalZoom.com and other similar services may be useful for legal documents when you have enough experience to know what to look for. For example: If you need an operating agreement for a new LLC you are setting up and you've done it before, LegalZoom might provide a starting point as a template to save you some time and money. But, be careful. Complicated entities require quality legal advice.

5. Real Estate – Never, ever put it in your own personal name. Always use an LLC or another entity but having real property in one’s name invites trouble. There is a lot of exposure in the real estate world so don’t risk it. No sole proprietorships in real estate.

6. General Partnerships – These are a little like sole proprietorships but require two or more partners. There are some benefits when you are fortunate enough to find a partner who is equally committed and capable of doing his/her share of the work (although that’s rare to find the perfect balance). Great for small business with clearly defined and divided responsibilities.

General partnerships can be easier to raise capital or get loans for a start up. Each partner files their own tax returns and all income and losses flow through to the individual partners. Downside – Some states require termination of the partnership when death, retirement, withdrawal, or resignation occurs.

There are ways around that but that’s fairly typical. More complicated than a sole proprietorship but there’s no double taxation that can occur in a c-corp. Exposure is high as all partners are responsible for the actions of the other partners. You better know your partner real well!

Tomorrow, I’ll get into additional entities such as LLCs, PLLCs, S - corps C – corps and more. If you want to join our weekly wealth building coaching program to learn how to grow and protect your financial future, drop me a note, give me a call, or visit my site for more info. Of course, all that said, the information I provide here is for educational purposes only so always get appropriate legal and accounting advice from professionals you trust.

Have a prosperous day!

Gabby Huguenin
Wealth Coach
CEO Wealth Classes Coaching, LLC
www.WealthClassesCoaching.com
888-888-3612

By the way, if you are facing some tax challenges, cash flow issues, or need a solid asset protection strategy, there is no charge to give me a call! We have a number of powerful wealth building programs to help you in the process of building financial freedom.