finance

COVID-19 a Need life insurance to secure an urgent SBA loan? . . . We are here to help.

The COVID-19 pandemic has left our community dealing with a level of uncertainty we’ve never experienced before. As we and our business owner clients navigate this crisis together, we will continue to honor the trust placed in us to deliver the caring, education & service levels you expect.  You can be confident that we and the mutual life insurance companies we work with are open for business and here to meet your needs, whether you are looking for stability & security for your family, key person coverage for valued employees, disability insurance protection for your income, or expedited underwriting of life insurance to help you secure an SBA loan . . . we are here to help.   

Follow this space in the coming weeks for innovative ideas and tips on how your business and family can come through this challenging period stronger than ever before

finance

COVID-19 and Business Valuation Continuity Planning for COVID-19

It is an astonishing statistic that even in “normal” times, 98% of the owners of privately held businesses do not know what their business is worth.   At the same time, 78% of those same business owners say that they plan someday to fund their retirement through the sale of the business.  What does this mean, as we are clearly living through a special period in history? (read more) . . . 

In the past, business valuation has been a costly and time-consuming process.  That is probably why it has been pushed to the side by business owners involved in day-to-day operations and, in times like these, plain old survival.  Still, given the importance of the business in the financial life of most owners, there is a powerful argument to be made that every business decision should be taken with current and future valuation in mind.

So what should business owners be doing to maintain and grow value during this crisis?  A quick list might look like this:

• Professionally audit your business accounts
• Update projections continuously against ever-changing conditions
• Think about new products, services or markets during the COVID-19 epidemic, which might be around for longer that we think
• Watch cash flow projections, revising frequently
• Stress test relations debtors and even more, your creditors
• Monitor business expenses as closely as sales, and press for economies
• Get a handle on the value of your business and evaluate decisions based upon how they might affect the value of the business in the short term and the longer term. 

Stonehouse is ready to assist you with getting a handle on the value of your business, as well as helping to connect you to government programs that are available and constantly evolving to assist small business owners.

Another area we at Stonehouse Insurance can help you is financial planning to make your company more resilient when the next crisis hits, through strategies that will build cash, grow it tax free, make it available to handle emergencies like the one we are going through today, protect you from market fluctuations and taxes and make it possible to preserve and transfer business value for you family in multiple scenarios, even like now when there are limited buyers in the market.

Call me at Stonehouse and let us show you how to navigate the current crisis and be prepared for the future, no matter what comes.  We can consult with you to create a business valuation document to guide your business decisions for the maximum business value growth.  What better way to spend a crisis . . . by making sure you’re ready for all the future crises?

finance

COVID-19 is having an immediate impact on the life insurance industry…

To help their clients and prospects and protect them from unnecessary personal contact and in-person meetings during these times of social distancing, many insurers are changing their life insurance underwriting process and, in some ways, making it more streamlined. Paramedical visits, blood and urine samples might be waived in some cases, especially for the younger and healthier classes of people. Also, fewer medical records might be requested. Since these steps are a major source of delay in underwriting new policies, the overall process from application to decision might go a lot faster than we are used to. To allow this to happen, the applicants themselves are being asked by some companies to provide more information, rather than requesting (and waiting for!) volumes of doctor’s records. In any case, for those us who are reluctant to be stuck with a needle (and who isn’t!), now is the time to apply for a new policy.

On the other hand, because the corona virus poses more risk to certain older folks and those with weaker health overall, life insurance companies are taking a second look at their age limits and how far they are willing to go in the direction of rated policies. How all this will play out in the industry over the coming months is anybody’s guess, but already we have heard of reputable companies not taking life insurance applications for anyone 75 or older, or on prospects 70 years old with impaired health. These changes are said to be “temporary” and I am sure life insurance companies will use this “time out” to study the more lasting impact this crisis will have on the life expectancy of certain groups of Americans going forward.

Maybe a lesson for business owners would be insure your key people early and make sure you don’t keep postponing your buy-sell financing.

Come to Stonehouse for help, education, counseling and to see how any of this applies to you and your business, or your estate planning.

finance

“Make your wishes known, especially now during COVID-19 . . . “

Let’s show love for our families, respect for our hospital workers and compassion for ourselves and make our end of life wishes known in advance . . .

While we are social distancing in our homes, it’s time to have that conversation that most of us have avoided or didn’t even know we needed to have. Make an end-of-life plan, write it down, and have it available to discuss with your doctor. Even better, reach out to a lawyer and learn how to make your wishes legally sound so if there is any kind of dispute between family members, there will be a clear path forward.

The legal document that can help to diminish the uncertainty and anguish around these decisions is called the Advanced Healthcare Directive or just Advanced Directive, and it is a standard document prepared by your attorney in the estate planning process.

Give me a call and let’s do a Zoom meeting to prepare you for a meeting with your estate planning attorney, and if you need to choose an attorney, we can help you locate one that will meet your needs as well. Let’s take advantage of the COVID-19 crisis to stop postponing our trust and estate planning and spare our families a ton of heartache and expense later on.

One doctor recently reported, “In my COVID-19 unit, patients have ranged from age 18 to 103. It’s doubtful the 18-year-old had thought much about her mortality prior to this.” Let’s at least do the Advanced Healthcare Directive and do it for our families, as well as ourselves.

finance

SECURE ACT says Goodbye, to the “stretch” IRA

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) significantly changed the rules for IRAs, and defined contribution plans (such as 401(k) and profit-sharing plans). Consult with your estate attorney and tax professional about how the SECURE Act might affect you. Talk to us at Stonehouse about creative solutions available to you to deal with these and other provisions of the SECURE Act, so that you can still accomplish your legacy goals.

Goodbye “stretch” IRA !

This is one of the most significant estate planning changes of the SECURE Act. For account owners who die after Dec. 31, 2019, beneficiaries may no longer spread or “stretch” IRA distributions over their lifetimes. Instead, IRAs (Roth included), must be distributed by Dec. 31 of the 10th year following the account holder’s death. Subject to new limitations, there are exceptions to the 10-year force out:

1. Surviving spouses generally have the same options as before (spousal rollover, etc.)
2. Beneficiaries who are less than 10 years younger than the IRA owner (for example, a sibling beneficiary) may continue to a use a lifetime distribution method.
3. Disabled or chronically ill beneficiaries may take distributions based on life expectancy.
4. Minor children (but not grandchildren) may delay the 10-year period until reaching the age of majority (varies by state).

During the 10-year period, there is no required minimum distribution (RMD). For example, a beneficiary could leave the entire amount in the inherited account until the end of the 10th year. The beneficiary would then take a lump sum distribution of the entire account. Alternatively, a beneficiary could spread distributions evenly over 10 years – or any combination as long at the 10-year deadline is satisfied.

Income tax impact

The 10-year force out is included in the revenue section of the Act. The message is clear: The force out is intended to generate revenue for the federal government more quickly (10 years at most). The compressed income could push beneficiaries into higher tax brackets creating a tax “double whammy” (compressed income taxed at a higher marginal rate).

IRA owners and beneficiaries should work closely with tax advisors to determine the distribution pattern that makes the most sense. In some cases, a 10-year distribution pattern to prevent bracket creep may be advantageous. In others, a lump sum distribution may be appropriate (for example, taxpayers with significant tax deductions).

Call me at Stonehouse, for more information about the SECURE Act.  I will help you identify issues and strategies to address them, so we can decide with your estate planning attorney and tax professional what strategies you should be considering.

finance

The COVID-19 pandemic has left our community dealing with a level of uncertainty we’ve never experienced before. As we and our business owner clients navigate this crisis together, we will continue to honor the trust placed in us to deliver the caring, education & service levels you expect. You can be confident that we and the mutual life insurance companies we work with are open for business and here to meet your needs, whether you are looking for stability & security for your family, key person coverage for valued employees, disability insurance protection for your income, or expedited underwriting of life insurance to help you secure an SBA loan . . . we are here to help.

Follow this space in the coming weeks for innovative ideas and tips on how your business and family can come through this challenging period stronger than ever before.