The perception that our jobs, as financial advisors, is just about money and investments is far from the truth. Our clients lean on us for help with constantly changing life events; such as death, disability, marriage and divorce, leaving a job, buying a house, and new parenthood. We encourage them to do so. It is far simpler to prevent mistakes rather than trying to fix things after bad decisions are implemented. In the next several blog posts, we will discuss some of these topics, and how we can help when a major life event happens in your life.
In this post, we will talk about the death of a loved one. Death of a spouse or parent is one of life’s most emotional and stressful events. In our work over the years, we have seen the results of both well organized and defined estates, and those that put incredible stress on the survivors. We see how a properly set up estate can make the lives of those survivors fundamentally simpler, so they can focus on their grieving and not on the mundane business & legalities of settling the estate. On the flip side, we also see how death without an estate plan can have a drastic impact on the lives of our clients and their families.
We assist our clients with initial conversations about wills & estate planning. We work with a team of dedicated lawyers who have helped our clients put together their own tailored estate plan; whether it is as simple as having a will completed, or more in-depth tax & estate preservation strategies.
Are you an executor to someone else’s will? If you have a spouse or an elderly single parent, you may likely be their executor. Have you ever completed this task before? Do you know what’s involved? Is the estate set up for ease of settlement when the time comes?
Are you familiar with the government benefits after the death of a family member? Conversely; are you familiar with the amount of taxes that are due at death, and have you implemented a plan to minimize this inevitable, sometimes very large tax bill as best you can? There are ways to reduce these, but the plans have to be in place before that fateful day.
Life is busy. Death is never at the forefront of our thoughts; no one likes to think about it. By not thinking about it however, things are often far more difficult for you as the survivor, or your family when you die, than it needs to be. In fact, we have seen that there is nothing like the death of a loved one to get people moving on their own estate plan. They see how difficult it can be and don’t want that for their own families.
Have you been through a death in your family that was tough to settle? Have you watched a close friend struggle with the loss of a loved one? It doesn’t have to be complicated if you plan ahead.
Let us help you plan. If you have a spouse, children, or aging parents – let’s start the conversation.