This Holiday Season, Give Your Family the Gift of Clarity and Peace of Mind

As we begin another holiday season with our families, I can’t help but think about two of the most passionate desires expressed during hundreds of discussions with clients over the years:

1. I don’t ever want to be a burden to my spouse, children, and grandchildren, and
2. I want to make everything as easy and seamless as possible when I’m no longer able to help.

It’s never a “good” or “convenient” time to think about these challenging issues.  There’s only the “right” time.  Let that time be right now. 

Take a few moments during this holiday season to verify that you’ve “dotted all your i’s” and “crossed all your t’s” in three very important areas:

1. Estate Plan: As I outlined in my book, The Relaxing Retirement Formula, it’s critically important to have the following four estate planning documents in place:
   
   a. Will (“Pour Over” for everything you haven’t re-titled to your trust)
   b. Durable Power of Attorney
   c. Health Care Proxy
   d. Revocable Living Trust
   
   Make sure these documents represent your current wishes and that you and your family can easily locate them.
2. Asset Titling and Beneficiaries: After the four estate planning documents are in place, change the title of ownership of all your assets to your revocable living trusts. This will avoid the cost and delays of probate. 
   
   Because assets you hold in IRAs and other retirement plans have a named beneficiary, they don’t need to be changed to your trust. Assets potentially suitable to be titled to your trusts include homes, bank accounts, and non-IRA investment accounts.
   
   If you don’t have a trust in place yet, a potential short-term solution is to add a designated beneficiary to non-IRA bank and investment accounts.   You can provide the institution with the names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers of your desired beneficiaries. 
   
   Finally, confirm that the primary and contingent beneficiaries on your IRAs are up to date and correct. 
   
3. What To Do When You’re No Longer Here: Statistics show it’s unlikely your spouse, children, and/or grandchildren know exactly what to do with everything you’ve accumulated. If something tragically happened to you today, would your family know:

If you said “no,” you’re not alone. 

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Dedicate an hour this holiday season to documenting this information for your family.

I fully recognize that you won’t wake up tomorrow morning and say, “Let me see, this weekend I can relax with my family, go to that holiday party, read a book, clean the garage, or write a set of instructions for my heirs when I pass away! Hmmm, what do I want to do first?”

As difficult as this may be, given the scope and underlying purpose, put yourself in the shoes of your heirs for a moment. Picture them anxiously attempting to carry out your wishes, but without your presence to guide them. Assume they don’t know anything you know. 

Your family will be thankful and relieved that you’ve taken the time to help make this emotional process easier for them. 

This is intended for informational purposes only. You should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this document serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Savant. Please consult your investment professional regarding your unique situation.

Jack Phelps Managing Partner / Financial Advisor

Jack has been involved in the financial services industry since 1989. He is the author of "The Relaxing Retirement Formula: For the Confidence to Liberate What You’ve Saved and Start Living the Life You’ve Earned."