Keep Your Name
What is a brand name? In the world of fashion often a designer’s name is the brand.
Guccio Gucci, Valentino Garavani, Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana, Coco Chanel.
But what happens when a designer sells their brand?
Jo Malone, Michael Kors, Donna Karan, Kate Spade, and Halston are examples of designers who sold their brand and lost their names.
They could not use their names to create any new product lines.
A name as a brand becomes intellectual property owned by the acquiring company.
Depending on the terms of the sale , a designer may be able to start new product lines using a different name.
Jo Malone created Jo Loves.
Kate Spade created Frances Valentine.
Legal battles ensue.
Any good trademark attorney will tell you NEVER use your name for a brand.
While most of us may not aspire to become a fashion icon or household name, there is a valuable lesson in keeping your name.
Especially when it comes to assets like checking accounts, credit cards, brokerage accounts, a car or a home.
For example, having a joint checking or savings account may seem like a simple way to manage expenses. Either person has access to the assets in the joint account.
The problem is that once you open a joint account you will be forever linked to the other person regardless of what happens in the future. And you will have no control over what the other person does.
I have heard a few stories about all the money in a checking account “disappearing” one day along with the spouse. Never to be seen again. In a joint account there is nothing the bank can do. Once it is gone, it is gone.
If you have joint credit cards , the credit rating agencies are merciless. If there is an unexpected decline in your credit rating, the rating agencies are not interested in hearing your explanation.
One of you forgot to make a payment or two. One of you went over the limit. One of you always pays on time.
It doesn’t make a difference who does what when. The credit agencies look at the joint account as ONE entity, not two separate people. ONE rating will be applied to both people.
Unfortunately, the information credit agencies collect stays on your record for a long, long time.
Years ago my identity was stolen. The “ring” was able to convince someone at the bank that they had lost their ATM card and needed a new ATM card right away, mailed to a new address. Not my address.
Yes I was reimbursed immediately by the bank when it was clear fraud had taken place BUT, that “new” address stayed on my credit profile for 10 years. There was NO WAY to work with the credit agencies to have it removed.
Every time you move, your credit rating is impacted.
If you have a joint account and one of you moves, both of you are dinged.
There is no negotiating with credit agencies to prove a mistake has been made.
There is no way to extricate yourself after the fact if you are no longer jointly joined.
Keeping your assets in your name instead of joint accounts isn’t about trust or loyalty or building a future together.
It is about taking full responsibility for your money and assets. If something goes wrong, you can’t blame the other person.
You are responsible for building your credit profile. You decide what to invest in. You keep track of your spending.
Keeping your assets in your name doesn’t preclude you from making financial decisions together like buying a house or a car. What it does is protect you from the downside.
The downside is the risk that your current situation changes.
When you keep your assets in your name you are not trying to “hide” anything from the other person.
You have a right to control your money.
In fact, keeping assets in your name is like an insurance policy . You hope you never need it but if you do it is there to protect you.
If you are really concerned about the trust issue, there are other ways to prove your devotion.
Naming someone as a beneficiary is one way. You can name a beneficiary in a will or trust document. You can name beneficiaries on your financial accounts with brokerage firms.
If you are married and filing a joint tax return, your finances become transparent to the other person.
Filing jointly does not mean you have joint accounts.
We all go through different cycles in life of spending and saving and acquiring assets.
There have been times in my life when I could barely make ends meet, and buying pantyhose was a dress code requirement I couldn’t afford.
There are times when I spent too much and saved too little.
Then I started saving and investing. Saving and investing has by far been the most rewarding part of my financial cycle.
I have always kept my assets in my name.
When I look back I can honestly say:
“I have always managed my own money even when I didn’t have any”
Keep your name . If you want to become a famous fashion designer use someone else’s name.
10 Designers Who Have Lost the Rights to Their Names, and Where They Are Now – Racked
This website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation to buy, or a recommendation for any security, nor does it constitute an offer to provide investment advisory or other services by The Modest Economist LLC.
