The Friend that outlasted Fido...

Ahh, changes, most people don't like them, a few embraces them and even less prepare themselves for their inevitable coming, the latter out of an ephemeral sensation of security, that seems to be there only to blind us from seeing the bitter reality of things nowadays.

From the day we are born we usually have someone taking care of us, our parents initially (and for quite sometime) but eventually other "figures"play an important role, the teachers at school/university, the company we work for, the state government asking for taxes in return for services (including public order among many things) our loved one, our best friends and yes even our favorite furry mascots.

BUT, in a globalized world where big companies once secure are now on the verge of bankruptcy and being bought by Arabian or Chinese firms, with the whole thing happening under the eyes of indebted governments only looking for ways to recover money in order to pay interests on their debts (with banks helping them out on their quest by whistle blowing your private business to them) can you be sure there is anyone out there really looking out for you?

What about the rest of the things I mentioned above?

Let me tell you about Mark (fictional name, but true story, a real case study if you wish) he married the love of his life, landed a dream job, bought a puppy of his favorite breed of dogs and started saving with the help of a good financial adviser.


Eventually he quit his job and went to business with his best friend Joe.

Life was looking up, plenty of love and money flowing in, what could go wrong? Well in 15 years he divorced his wife, had several fights with his best friend on business quarrels eventually leading to a company split. At least he was able to keep Fido.

You see, that's the great thing about dogs, no matter the circumstances they are always there waiting for you at home with a wagging tail (gotta love'em) their only problem being... they are short lived (18years if you are lucky) but they are worth all the effort and give back more than they receive.

Now then, wouldn't it be great if in addition, there was something else out there with similar characteristics?


Returning to the story of Mark, poor Fido eventually died of old age and so did Mark`s parents, at that point he would have been left alone at the mercy of demanding divorce lawyers and blood sucking institutions if it wasn't for the fact that at a certain point during the early years, Mark followed his Financial Adviser suggestion to put his holdings inside a Trust (everything except for the liquidity needed for everyday life and later, to run things) enjoying tax free growth on his savings and asset protection (not to mention that thanks to absolute confidentiality he didn't even have to litigate such assets during divorce procedures).

He was able to re-marry, have 2 beautiful baby daughters and get a new puppy. He is still saving into a Trust and in full control of his life.

Whether we like it or not, there are no guarantees that the people currently in our lives will stick till the end, and after our parents, there is really no such a thing as an external institution (or person) that is there in order to really look out for us, I believe we all agree in that we need to build our own safe haven ourselves, a bullet proof stronghold if you wish.
But don't let rosy circumstances blind you from perils up ahead, if your wealth growth is being eaten by taxes, inflation and all kinds of "growth repressing" factors, and what you have is sitting there at the mercy of any claim, caprice or calamity then you really don't have that stronghold in place.

Trusts just like dogs, are always there for you, they keep your wealth from arms way and allow you to rebuild a life not to mention retire in all tranquility (and unlike dogs they actually outlive you giving the chance to your designated heirs to decide how to proceed while also avoiding probation and death taxes).

They are NOT for the super rich only, they are quite cheap and easy to set up nowadays and they serve you as a central base wherever you are in the world, getting rid of hurdles, threats and making sure that what`s yours stays yours.

In the next post I will delve in the technical details about what a trust really is, all the benefits and how easy it really is to get your very own.