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WEALTH MANAGEMENT | FINANCIAL PLANNING
Strategic Debt Management
For many high-net-worth families, debt is not a sign of financial distress - it is a tool.
Mortgages, securities-backed lines of credit, business loans, and other forms of leverage can all play a role in a thoughtful strategy. But unmanaged or unexamined debt can quietly increase risk, constrain flexibility, and complicate both tax and estate planning.
The Problem
Debt Management Issues
Successful investors often carry a complex mix of liabilities:
Primary and secondary home mortgages
Investment property loans
Securities-backed lines of credit and margin
Business or practice loans and guarantees
Private loans between family members or entities
Common challenges Heirloom sees include:
No unified picture of debt – Loans scattered across lenders, with terms and covenants that are not tracked in one place.
Unclear role of leverage – Borrowing decisions made opportunistically over time, without a defined strategy or exit plan.
Refinancing by default – Refinances done to reduce payments or rates, but without considering broader planning implications.
Cash drag vs. comfort – Large cash balances kept for “safety” while maintaining significant, expensive debt elsewhere.
Tax assumptions that may no longer hold – Interest deductibility and structuring decisions based on rules or situations that have changed.
Even when working with a wealth manager, many high-net-worth investors find that debt is treated as a side note rather than a core part of the planning conversation.
Heirloom’s Debt Management service brings liabilities into the center of the discussion.
Heirloom’s Approach to Debt Management
Our Approach
1. Complete Liability Inventory
The process starts by assembling a full picture of your debt:+
Family structure and financial dependents
Career or business exposure and key-person risk
Lifestyle, properties, and major assets
Existing estate and legacy intentions
Current income sources and obligations
In parallel, the team gathers details on your existing coverage, typically including:
Life insurance (term, permanent, and any policies held in trusts or entities)
Disability income protection
Long-term care coverage, if applicable
Personal liability and umbrella policies
Property and casualty policies at a high level
Any specialty or business-related coverage connected to your role or company
The goal is to see your risks and protections in context, rather than as isolated contracts.
Our Approach
2. Coverage and Gap Analysis
Once the full picture is assembled, Heirloom analyzes how your current coverage lines up with your actual risks and goals. This often includes:
Comparing death benefit levels to income needs, debt, and legacy objectives
Reviewing disability and income protection relative to current earnings and lifestyle
Assessing whether long-term care risk has been meaningfully addressed or intentionally retained
Evaluating liability coverage limits and structure in light of net worth and exposure
Identifying gaps where significant risks may be underinsured or uninsured
Highlighting overlaps where multiple policies may be addressing the same risk unnecessarily
This is a planning exercise, not a sales presentation. The focus is on understanding trade-offs and priorities—what you are protecting against, what you are choosing to self-insure, and whether that balance is intentional.
Our Approach
3. Integration With Your Wealth, Tax, and Estate Strategy
Insurance does not exist in a vacuum. Heirloom evaluates how your coverage interacts with:
Your investment plan – How much risk your portfolio is taking, and whether insurance is being used to protect against events that could force unfavorable investment decisions.
Your tax picture – The potential tax treatment of premiums, benefits, and policy structures, in coordination with your tax advisors.
Your estate plan – Ownership and beneficiary designations, the role of trusts, and whether policies support your legacy and liquidity objectives.
Business and entity structures – Buy-sell funding, key-person coverage, or other arrangements relevant to your role as an owner or executive.
Where appropriate, Heirloom coordinates with your attorney and CPA so that risk management, tax planning, and estate planning are all pulling in the same direction.
Important note: Heirloom does not provide legal or tax advice. Strategies are reviewed and implemented in coordination with your existing tax and legal professionals, and outcomes depend on individual circumstances.
Our Approach
4. Recommendations and Strategy Design
After analysis, Heirloom presents candid findings in plain language, including:
Where coverage appears appropriate and aligned with your goals
Where adjustments in type, amount, or structure may be worth considering
Which risks you may be intentionally or unintentionally self-insuring
Options for simplifying outdated or redundant policies
Potential recommendations may involve:
Keeping existing coverage but clarifying its role within the plan
Adjusting coverage levels or terms based on current needs
Restructuring ownership or beneficiaries to better align with your estate strategy
Exploring alternative solutions with your existing insurance professionals if changes are warranted
Heirloom’s role is to help you make informed decisions. The firm does not have a product quota and does not rely on commissions from insurance sales.
Our Approach
5. Implementation Support and Coordination
If you decide to make changes, Heirloom helps coordinate:
Conversations with your current insurance agents and carriers
Updates to ownership, beneficiaries, and integration with trusts or entities
Adjustments to your financial plan and investment strategy reflecting new protections or premiums
Communication across your advisory team so everyone is working from the same risk framework
The objective is to ensure that any changes are deliberate, documented, and fully integrated into your broader plan—rather than a series of one-off policy updates.
Outcomes / Results
Heirloom does not present debt management as a way to guarantee financial outcomes or eliminate risk. Debt always involves uncertainty and trade-offs.
What clients typically gain from this work is:
A Coherent Liability Strategy
A clear, consolidated view of all borrowing arrangements
An understanding of why each liability exists and how it serves (or doesn’t serve) your plan
A defined approach to future borrowing, refinancing, and paydown decisions
More Intentional Coverage
Policies that exist for clearly defined reasons, not just because they were purchased long ago
Coverage levels linked to your actual needs and goals, not generic rules of thumb
Better alignment between your insurance, investment, tax, and estate strategies
Reduced Complexity and Redundancy
Fewer overlapping or duplicative policies, where appropriate
Cleaner ownership and beneficiary structures
Simpler documentation for family members and future advisors
Better Preparedness for Life Events
While no strategy can prevent difficult events, a thoughtful risk management framework can:
Help reduce the financial impact of certain unplanned events
Provide clearer guidance for you and your family during stressful moments
Support more confident decision-making about work, retirement, giving, and legacy
Is Heirloom's Debt Management for you?
Heirloom’s Debt Management service is especially valuable for:
High-net-worth families
with multiple properties, investment accounts, and complex borrowing arrangements.
Executives and professionals
whose income and benefits are tied to a single company or industry.
Business owners and entrepreneurs
whose personal, business, and insurance structures are intertwined.
Families with multi-generational or philanthropic goals
where insurance may form part of liquidity, equalization, or legacy strategies.
Investors already working with a wealth manager
who feel that insurance and real-world risks are not being addressed with the same rigor as investments.
If you see your situation in any of these descriptions - and you want your debt decisions to reflect the same level of care as your investment decisions - Heirloom’s approach is designed for you.
FAQs
Q. What is Heirloom’s overall philosophy on debt management?
Heirloom’s general rule of thumb is simple: debt becomes a much bigger problem in retirement. While debt decisions depend on life stage and interest rates, the long-term objective is to reduce or eliminate debt before retirement whenever possible. This approach is designed to improve both financial outcomes and peace of mind.
Q: Should clients always pay off low-interest debt as soon as possible?
Not necessarily. Low-interest debt—such as a long-term mortgage with a very low rate—may not always be the top priority if capital can be deployed more effectively elsewhere. Heirloom evaluates each situation within the broader financial plan, balancing mathematical efficiency with psychological comfort and long-term goals.
Q: Why does Heirloom emphasize being debt-free going into retirement?
Beyond the numbers, debt has a psychological impact that many people underestimate. Entering retirement without debt often reduces stress and improves confidence around spending and lifestyle decisions. Even when keeping low-interest debt may make sense on paper, many clients benefit emotionally from eliminating liabilities before transitioning into retirement.
Q: How does Heirloom help clients prioritize and pay down debt?
Heirloom evaluates all forms of debt—including mortgages, HELOCs, credit cards, auto loans, and investment property debt—and incorporates them into a comprehensive financial plan. Clients are then guided through structured payoff strategies that align with their cash flow, goals, and behavioral tendencies.
Q: What debt payoff strategies does Heirloom recommend most often?
While Heirloom educates clients on both the avalanche method (highest interest first) and the snowball method (smallest balance first), the firm often recommends the snowball approach. Research and experience show that early wins create momentum, making clients more likely to stay committed and successfully eliminate debt over time.
If you are not fully confident that your current borrowing structure supports your long-term goals, Heirloom can help.
Schedule A Strategy Session with Our Team
This initial conversation is designed to understand your goals, current situation, and priorities. You’ll have the opportunity to ask questions, explore how Heirloom’s integrated approach works, and determine whether a longer-term relationship makes sense—without pressure or obligation.
Our Services
A coordinated approach to managing investments, planning, and cash flow, designed to bring clarity and confidence to your financial life today and over time.
Tax strategies integrated with your broader wealth plan, helping inform decisions, improve efficiency, and support long-term outcomes through coordinated planning.
Contact
6400 S Fiddlers Green Circle
Suite 1970
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
3200 Cherry Creek S Dr.
Suite 130
Denver, CO 80209
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