By Anthony Nasca, Financial Advisor, CEPA ® and Brad Stanek, Financial Advisor, CFP ®

While proper investment consulting is crucial for generating portfolio returns, what if we also included tax minimization, thoughtful estate planning, wealth protection strategies and charitable giving to help propel your wealth forward? We classify these strategies into four pillars: Wealth Enhancement, Wealth Protection, Wealth Transfer and Charitable Giving.

In this three-part series, we will focus on several of the planning areas that may be especially relevant to marine dealer principals: Wealth Enhancement and Tax Planning, Estate and Asset Protection Planning, and Charitable Giving and Legacy Planning.

You did not build your marine dealership by accident. It took years of early mornings, difficult decisions, customer relationships, employee leadership and reinvestment back into the business. For many dealer owners, the dealership is more than an operating company. It is the centerpiece of your personal wealth, family security and long-term legacy.

That said, marine dealerships are asset-heavy businesses. The operating company, real estate, inventory, equipment, customers, lenders and family wealth are often closely connected. That creates opportunity, but it also creates concentration risk. The issue is that risk rarely stays static.

A policy package that made sense when the dealership was smaller pre-COVID may not reflect today’ s balance sheet, inventory levels, property values, employee count, etc. According to FEMA, roughly 40 % of small businesses never reopen after a disaster, and many more struggle because the financial impact reaches beyond physical damage. For a dealer owner, the question is not,“ Do we have insurance?” It’ s,“ Would our coverage actually protect the business and personal net worth we have today?”

The goal is not more coverage for coverage’ s sake. It is so that if the unexpected happens, the financial damage is contained, and the business can keep moving forward.

A meaningful insurance review should start with,“ What has changed?”

Have you added a location, expanded service bays, purchased real estate or built up storage capacity? Each of these may look like a business decision, but each can also create a new financial exposure.

This matters because dealership growth can quietly outpace protection planning. Commercial property values and replacement costs have risen significantly in recent years, while higher inventory levels, larger transactions and heightened fraud risks can create losses that easily exceed day-to-day operating reserves.

A practical solution is to conduct a coordinated commercial and personal risk review at least annually, especially after a major business change. That review should identify where risk sits, what is covered, what is excluded, and whether a claim could reach the dealership, real estate entity or personal balance sheet. Areas to evaluate may include: Property and casualty coverage Umbrella and excess liability Employment practices liability Fraud and cyber-related coverage Key-person coverage Buy-sell funding

So, now your business is protected, but what happens if you are no longer around? Estate planning is often reduced to the documents- wills, trusts, powers of attorney and beneficiary designations. But for a marine dealer owner, it is a key process for business continuity and your family.

The issue that we see far too often is that many owners have estate documents that were drafted, but they were drafted 20 years ago for a different stage of life. That plan may not reflect current dealership value, real estate, family dynamics, inheritance tax law changes and the owner’ s eventual exit strategy. Caring. com’ s 2024 estate planning survey found that only about one-third of Americans have a will, and even families with documents in place often fail to update them as circumstances change. For business owners, outdated planning can create confusion at the worst possible time.

For many marine dealer owners, the dealership may be the family’ s largest and least liquid asset. That makes regular planning essential. The recommendation here is that, even if you think nothing has changed personally, that you revisit your estate plan every 3-5 years. Even if nothing major has changed within your family and you day-to-day, there will likely be areas in the old estate plan that need to be updated and that is better to know now than when you have to scramble when there is an illness or passing in the family.

Whether your ultimate goal is to sell to a third party, transition to family, create an internal succession plan or continue operating for decades, wealth protection and wealth transfer should be part of your broader financial and exit plan.

A strong roadmap helps connect three important outcomes: protecting the dealership while you own it, understanding what you need personally and transferring wealth according to your wishes. It also helps coordinate your financial advisor, attorney, CPA, insurance professional and other key advisors so everyone is working from the same playbook.

You have worked too hard to let avoidable gaps create unnecessary risks for your dealership, your family and your future. Reviewing your insurance and estate planning may not feel urgent when business is moving fast, but it can make all the difference when life, markets or succession decisions force action.

To better understand if there are gaps or opportunities in your plan, our team offers a complimentary Second Opinion Service- a 360-degree review of your dealership and personal financial situation, including wealth protection and wealth transfer strategies.

Anthony Nasca CEPA ® is a Financial Advisor with The Stanek-Haack Group at Morgan Stanley |( P): 312-965-0877 |( E): anthony. nasca @ morganstanley. com

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Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC(“ Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors or Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Individuals should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trusts, estate planning, charitable giving, philanthropic planning or other legal matters.

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