Protection of private assets

Extrajudicial power of attorney: Anticipating incapacity

A health care power of attorney is a crucial tool for anyone who values self-determination, even when they are unable to make decisions themselves. By drawing up a preventive power of attorney, you give one or more trusted persons the authority to perform specific or general actions about your assets and/or your person.

Advantages of an extrajudicial power of attorney:

• Protecting Your Needs- Define exactly how you want your care to be performed. Your wishes will be respected, even if you are unable to make your voice heard.
• Preventive control - You decide preventively who you appoint as confidential advisors who will later be allowed to continue to manage your assets - not the justice of the peace.
• Flexible entry into force - You choose when the extrajudicial power of attorney takes effect: during a trip, before an operation, or in the event of incapacity based on medical reports.
• Avoiding legal complications - Without a health care power of attorney, an administrator must be appointed through the justice of the peace - a time-consuming and emotionally taxing process.
• Reduction of inheritance tax - You can give permission to make gifts to specific beneficiaries in certain cases, so that your assets are not blocked.

Will: Anticipating inheritance tax and undesirable inheritance

Drafting a will is an essential step for anyone who wants to arrange their estate carefully. A will offers numerous advantages and helps to prevent ambiguities and conflicts for your loved ones.

Advantages of a will:

1. Clear division of assets - You decide how your assets and assets are divided. This will prevent confusion or disputes among your heirs.

2. Recording specific wishes

• Spreading assets over different heads to reduce inheritance tax
• Allocation of certain assets to specific persons (family home tax-free to your partner, your business to the children who work in it)
• Specific favouring, disinheritance or supervision of a particular heir
• Avoiding control by ex-partner
• Preventing young children from having a large wealth immediately and freely

3. Care for your loved ones – Make sure your loved ones are well cared for

4.  Avoid high inheritance tax - With a well-drafted will, you can take advantage of tax benefits and minimize inheritance tax, so that more assets remain with your loved ones.

Flexibility and control

A will can be amended at any time to reflect changes in your life or wishes. This flexibility ensures that your will is always up-to-date and in line with your current situation.

Unattachability of family home: Anticipating creditors

As a director of a company, your private assets are at risk. A claim based on directors' and officers' liability can lead to creditors seizing your family home. The declaration of non-seizure is a legal instrument that ensures that your family home remains safe, even if you are confronted with debts.

Advantages of non-seizure of the family home:

• Protection of the family home - Your family home is protected against attachment by creditors. Even in financial difficulties, your property cannot be sold to pay off debts.
• Peace of mind for your family - Ensure that your family does not face the uncertainty and stress of possible forced sale of the property.

As an entrepreneur, do you want to secure your family home against the claims of creditors? This declaration is an administratively simple and effective solution.

Private value map: Digital Asset Management and Succession Planning

The Private Value Map is a powerful wealth management tool for individuals who want to plan and protect their financial future. This tool goes beyond just an overview of assets and debts.

Functionalities of the Private Value Map:

• Global view of assets and liabilities - A structured asset inventory that provides a complete picture of your financial situation: real estate, investments, liquidity, debts and loans.
• Digital safe - A secure digital repository for important financial and legal documents, centrally accessible to you and your advisors.
• Inheritance Tax Estimation – Creates realistic estimates of inheritance tax, so that the future financial impact on heirs is clear and you can optimize your inheritance planning.
• Succession planning simulations - Test different scenarios and analyze their impact on your estate. Make a well-thought-out schedule that meets your personal wishes.

The Private Value Map is therefore a versatile tool that helps to optimise asset management, ensure future financial well-being and reduce complexity when planning inheritance and inheritance tax.

Optimization through marriage contract: Tax optimization and protection against creditors

Tax optimization through a marriage contract is an important point of attention in inheritance planning and the management of personal and business risks. Various mechanisms can be used for asset protection.

Protection mechanisms in the marriage contract:

• Allocation clause - A clause whereby the spouses agree that in the event of the death of one of them, the surviving spouse will be allocated certain assets from the estate. This offers tax and practical optimisation, so that the surviving spouse can more easily claim specific assets, without additional inheritance tax.
• Stay/allocation clause - The residence or allocation clause plays a role in goods that belong to both spouses in joint ownership. It can be stipulated that the surviving spouse automatically acquires full ownership of these assets or can choose certain assets from the matrimonial property. This not only provides more financial security for the surviving spouse, but can also provide tax benefits.
• Protection against professional debts - For entrepreneurs and directors, a clear separation between private assets and business risks is crucial. Good asset structuring, such as certain clauses in a marriage contract, can protect you and your family from the consequences of business setbacks.
• Tightening directors' liability - Directors' liability has been strengthened, with stricter rules and increased personal liability for certain errors or omissions. This means that your personal assets may be at risk. By building in legal protection in a timely manner, such as setting up certain asset structures, directors can shield their private assets from business risks.

Important to know: Danger zone in the legal system

Under the legal system, the joint property can become a target for creditors, even if the debt relates only to one of the spouses. By carefully drafting a marriage contract, you prevent the entire joint property from being exposed to the debts of one partner.

Conclusion

With the right techniques and tools, you can effectively protect your assets against tax burdens and the risks of creditors.

Take control of your assets today. Proactive estate planning is not a luxury – it is a necessity for every entrepreneur and director who wants to secure his or her future and that of their loved ones. With the right tools, you can protect your assets, minimize tax burdens, and provide peace of mind.

Don't wait until it's too late. Start protecting what you have built with hard work today.

Stay informed of possible changes in the interpretation by VLABEL and regularly seek advice to keep your tax and legal situation optimal.