Do you have a professionally drawn up will ? Do you have a power of attorney drawn up for someone to take care of your affairs if you are incapacitated? Dying without a will is very expensive and will cause your heirs nightmares to settle your estate . You may be thinking" I do not need one as everything will pass to my spouse " WRONG ! What if both spouse die in same accident what happens to the children and assets ? Main items of consideration in a basic will are : executor , guardian and trustee . Go see a lawyer or your financial adviser that understands will who can first explain the provisions of a will to you in way that you can understand . After you have a will work with a lawyer that will spend time to draw up a proper will for you and not as I saw in a business meeting with a client tell them that he will get his ASSISTANT secretary create something for them . If you own a business you should have a business will to deal with your business assets .
I was just contacted by a client that I have been trying for over 10 years to complete a full Estate Plan in early January . Where does one start ? Take inventory of all assets / liabilities , investment vehicles , insurance contract , complete a questionnaire with me designed to ask questions to bring clarity and build a advisory team around my client . Who is part of that advisory team besides our firm ? Existing legal and accounting professionals , bring in other advisor's when necessary like Ken Andrews/Ron Prehogan from Equitas Consultants to deal with inter family issues and numerous other resources developed over my last 29 years in the business . We are what you would refer as a quarter back of many a Estate Planning projects as well as Business Planning sessions . Why ? Experience of working with individuals from which some are known here as well as internationally . I thank all my clients that allowed me to be part of their life and trusted me to always keep their best interest at heart .
When was the last time you had an audit of your financial affairs ? Yes a AUDIT ! MANY PEOPLE GET BUSY LIVING LIVES , RAISING FAMILIES , BUILDING COMPANIES AND FORGET TO PLAN THEIR OWN LIFE .We see weekly disasters waiting to happen because the planning people are doing or have done are in isolation . They buy product and rarely look at the effect it has on their big plan . Worst yet , people do not have a big plan . Yes we are paid to provide clients with products but we do much more then that . This week we were in a joint meeting with a group of professionals and one felt that he was a TRUSTED adviser . I explained whet my role is to the clients and it extends thousands of miles beyond simply placing a product . We wear many hats and have to me well rounded to provide you with advice .
With so many family businesses out there it amazes me how little or no planning is completed to : give parent's opportunity to enjoy retirement , pass business to next generations to come and protect the family members from arguments . When it comes down to understanding family dynamics and integrated planning there is a need for specialists who not only have experience but also are able to capture true desires of the family . Why would you not involve as many professionals in the process who bring their distinct values into the process ? You pay for services from all kinds of people in form or fees or commission from sales of various products you purchase . Create a new team of competent advisor's and some of your existing advisor's may not have a role to play in your Estate Planning or corporate reorganization .
There are many definitions of Estate Planning and each adviser has his or her own . My definition does involve completing a fact find , team solutions and lot's of conversation . It also involves bringing all advisor's into a single meeting and creating solution as a team rather then traditional way one silos at a time : accounting , legal , insurance , banking and investments . Some people will have you fill out a long questionnaire , feed the information into a computer and give you a report . While this does give you a snap shot of certain things it is far from being a Estate Plan . We are your personal financial architect !
