This Week's Topic: ASSET PROTECTION

Protecting your assets is the first order of the day. You could be extremely successful but because an employee or agent of yours did something wrong you could be held liable for all of the enormous damages resulting from the mistake. Your liability insurance might be insufficient so that much of your personal wealth would be at risk of loss.

The U.S. Supreme Court, however, has held that a qualified corporate retirement plan is exempt from creditors so long as you have at least one employee. So if you are a sole owner you might consider incorporating and rolling your IRA into a corporate plan to prevent the creditors from getting your nestegg.

The above-described technique was approved by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the Stern case.