Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Estate Planning for Network Marketing Pros

Are you involved in network marketing? Did you know that your network business is a business that should be planned for if you became disabled or died? Do you know the steps to protect your business interests and downlines?

Well the answer to these questions for you should be yes! If you are involved at all in network marketing, it is essential to learn how to protect your business interests. Here are some simple steps to follow to make sure you and your family are protected.

1. Read your business documents and materials. There may be provisions that specify what happens by default to your business if you are disabled or die. Make sure you know how these contract provisions work and how they affect your planning for your family.

2. Make sure you have current durable financial and health care Powers of Attorney in place. Make sure that these documents have the very important HIPAA provisions. And make sure that your designated agent(s) can deal with your network business if you are incapacitated.

3. Make sure you have an up to date Will or Trust that has provisions for your network business and that these provisions will be respected by your uplines and business promoter. Nothing will cause your family more dismay then if you valuable business disappears because you didn't follow the requirements in the network contracts.

4. If you already have these arrangements in place, then review them with your estate planning attorney if you haven't done so within the last six months or longer. Periodic reviews are crucial to ensure synchronization between your business and your estate planning.

These simple steps will go far in protecting your business and making you feel more comfortable that all your hard work will benefit your loved ones.

H.R. 436: Our New Estate Tax System

We are getting a glimpse of what our new federal estate tax system may look like. House Resolution 436 appears to be the Obama administration's approach to federal estate taxes.

I will report in more detail on this in the coming days, but here is a short summary of where we may be headed:

1. A permanent (somewhat) exemption of $3.5 million.
2. No portability between spouses.
3. A top estate tax bracket of 45%.
4. The elimination of discounts on non-operating assets.

Stay tuned, there will be more on this in the days ahead.