Risk Management
This is one of the most important aspects of wealth management, as it involves protecting any already-existing wealth. A qualified wealth management professional can help you assess your potential for loss and then take the steps necessary to protect your assets, be it through insurance, legal policies, etc.
Retirement Planning
There are a number of ways to prepare for retirement, and an accountant who specializes in wealth management can help you navigate which options are best for you. Many people today choose to open a Roth IRA, but you can also explore other options such as a traditional IRA, taxable investment account, or savings account.
Lifestyle Budgeting
One crucial aspect of wealth management is ensuring that cash flow management and budgeting correspond to the particular needs and lifestyle of the client. That is where lifestyle budgeting comes in. Lifestyle budgeting is especially important for higher wealth individuals whose lifestyle is dependent on family, multiple employees, etc.
Philanthropy
Philanthropy or charitable planning is a great wealth management option for anyone with a philanthropic desire. Wise charitable planning can create a charitable tax deduction and help reduce tax burden, all while giving back to the community and setting up future gifts for designated recipients.
Debt Structuring
Debt structuring refers to the process through which an individual (or business) strategically pays off loans and debts. A wealth management professional might, for example, recommend taking out a second mortgage and using that money to pay off three credit cards at once. The lower interest rate of the second mortgage would make managing debt easier than it would be keeping up with the higher interest rates of credit card debt payments.
Estate Planning
Estate planning refers to the comprehensive process of organizing your assets and creating a plan for your assets for after you are gone. Estate planning is a wide ranging realm of its own, and a qualified professional can help you establish trusts, prepare a will, assign guardianship and conservatorship responsibilities, and more.
Family Allowances
Family allowances, or family exemptions, are distributed to an individual’s surviving spouse and minor children and are designed to help maintain them for a period of up to one year following the individual’s death. These usually take priority over almost all other claims (including creditor claims), and they are typically carved out of the individual’s estate (that is, not treated as an advantage of future estate distributions.) A wealth management specialist can help you understand the particular family allowance laws that apply to your family.