Precious Metals as Part of Your Estate
Precious Metals and Your Heirs
Estate planning can be an extremely complicated and cumbersome endeavor. There are numerous assets that must be considered, including your home, autos and investments. If estate planning is not carefully planned, taxes and other issues can pose problems, leaving your heirs with less overall inheritance.
When many think of leaving, or bequeathing, assets to their heirs, the most common assets that may come to mind are homes, other real estate and investment portfolios. These investment portfolios often consist of stocks, bonds and other instruments.
Precious metals such as gold and silver are, in our view, great assets to pass on to the next generation. These metals have been recognized as a reliable store of value for thousands of years. They are traded and valued all over the globe, and carry no counterparty or default risk.
Why shouldn’t they be passed on as well?
By allocating money into precious metals today, you can accomplish not one but two important goals…
First, you can gain peace of mind knowing you have an asset that can potentially hedge your exposure to inflation, currency risks, geopolitical risks and economic hardship. These precious metals are very liquid and are in most cases transacted very easily.
In addition to these potential benefits, owning physical gold, silver or other precious metals may also add an additional layer of diversification to your overall portfolio, potentially reducing portfolio volatility.
Secondly, you can build a store of wealth for your heirs. Gold, silver and other precious metals can be passed on to your heirs along with other assets. And there are a few different ways to do this.
You can pass on coins, bars or rounds that you own and store at home, in a safe deposit box or other location such as a depository.
You may also have the option of passing on your precious metals holdings that are held within an IRA, trust or retirement account. This can be a way to pass ownership of your precious metals to someone else without necessarily having to have the metals physically delivered.
Unlike stocks, bonds or other “paper” investments, you are passing on something of tangible value that cannot be manipulated, go broke or go out of business. By passing on precious metals to your heirs, you can rest assured they are getting something of true value.
Of course, there are many rules and guidelines that must be adhered to when bequeathing your precious metals. Tax and estate laws can vary depending on your location, and must be strictly followed in order to ensure a smooth transfer.
We believe that right now presents a fantastic opportunity to begin planning for the future. Gold is currently at multiyear lows, while silver is not far behind. We do expect gold and silver prices to rise over time, however, and view current levels as an opportunity to buy gold and silver at a significant discount.
Not only could prices for these precious metals rise during your lifetime, but they could also potentially appreciate in value significantly during the lifetime(s) of your heirs.
By helping secure your own financial future today, you may also be securing their financial futures for tomorrow.