I was thinking about the real estate investment that I mentioned last time, and that made me wonder if you had really thought through how you hold your estate and its organization. Real estate is often held as “joint tenant with right of survivorship”, which gets around probate but can have disadvantages in other ways.

For example, you may think that it would be a good idea to add your offspring to your house title as joint tenant, so that the house would pass immediately into their possession on your death. Unfortunately, this can spell trouble for you; for if they get sued, you may find that your house can be taken away from you because it is part of their assets.

Many people put off the vital decisions on their savings and investment, preferring to concentrate on maximizing their returns, but this example brings to light another very important side to retirement plans. In fact, even before retirement your investment strategies should include looking at how your heirs may be best looked after. The way your property, of all kinds, is titled can make a big difference.

Every year many books are written that advice on how best to organize your assets. It may depend on the writer’s point of view and background what the recommendations are. For instance, many writers recommend using a living trust to help avoid probate. This advice is good as far as it goes, but without considering the whole picture you may find that you have other vulnerabilities. The living trust on its own essentially provides no protection of your assets from a lawsuit, frivolous or not, and asset protection is an increasingly important factor in this litigious society. The truth is that there are many aspects to consider, and you need to take an integrated look that combines all considerations to see how best to hold and use your property.

It is not the most exciting of topics, but one that you should sort out as soon as you have any assets. Instead of trying to piece together your own plan from the advice of many different experts, you should look for a company, such as Integrated Asset Management (www.iamllc.biz), or an investment advisor such as Ken Himmler (www.kenhimmler.com) who can give you investment advice and prepare a comprehensive wealth management plan based on all of your circumstances.

Authored by Kenneth Himmler, Sr.