When Sam and Sandy got the bad news from Sam’s doctor… He had cancer, and, even with the newest and most aggressive treatments, the survival rate was less than 5%. Sam knew that it was highly unlikely that he would survive for very long. His thoughts turned to Sandy and their family.
Throughout their 35 years of their marriage, Sam had managed the finances. He managed everything from their investment portfolio to their real estate business and their monthly bills. Sandy had little or no interest in managing the investments and since Sam loved to fix whatever needed to be fixed in the rental properties, Sandy was happy to leave it all to Sam. Sandy is somewhat frugal, she is by no means a spendthrift. Sam’s income had always covered the bills, everything the family needed, and anything Sandy ever really wanted. Sam always believed it was his primary purpose in life to provide for his family and that included carefully managing everything in their financial life.
Preparing for Next Steps
Unfortunately, this situation is all too familiar to me, to my family, and in my . Several times each year, either a family member, a client, or someone close to one of my clients, passes away. Frequently individuals who have been recently widowed reach out to me for help in getting their financial affairs in order so they can confidently face what lies ahead.
My team worked closely with Sam and Sandy to gradually transfer control of the finances to Sandy while Sam was still able to help. For the first time in her life, Sandy realized that she would be 100% responsible for everything financial. She worked diligently to understand the nuances of their financial plan – from investments, to account management, to tax planning, even understanding their estate plan.
A couple years before his illnesss, Sam told me that he had only one thing on his bucket list: I want to make sure my financial plan is up to date and well-coordintated so that my family is in good shape if I were to die tomorrow.
Within an unbelievably short time, Sam fell ill and began to undergoe chemotherapy and several experimental surgeries. Sandy knew that she would need to completely takeover the family finances. Paying the monthly bills and understanding all of their sources of income was the first step. Sandy knew that once Sam was gone, she would become responsible for all of the investment decisions and she would need to interact with each of the Financial Advisors Sam had hired over the years including his stock broker, family attorney, CPA, and his insurance agents.
Crafting a Well-Coordinated Plan
My primary job as their Certified Financial Planner™ professional was to help coordinate the Financial Advisors involved in each area of Sam and Sandy’s financial life. My goal in the Smith Family Financial Plan was to do everything I could do to help Sandy experience more clarity, confidence, and contentment in terms of her financial future. The last thing I wanted Sandy to worry about was money or any of the challenges related to managing money.
Sam’s Vision, Values, and Purpose
Today, Sandy is confidently in charge of her financial future. She was able to focus only on grieving Sam’s loss and continuing her life without him, as opposed to feeling confused, anxious and uncertain about her financial future. Sam’s vision, values, and purpose continue to impact his family and Sandy. She never had to turn to well-meaning but uninformed family members for advice – or worse – a friendly financial sales professional who might take advantage of her lack of financial savvy.
Helping Sam achieve the one item on his bucket list was one of my most meaningful experiences as a .
What Matters Most to You?
During our recent annual meeting, I asked Sandy to think about what will happen the day after she dies. While this homework assignment may seem way too morbid for the normal American, its really one of the most essential elements of life planning, including wealth management. The pain of Sam’s loss will probably never go away completely for Sandy, but her ability to focus on What Matters Most has enabled her to make wise financial decisions for herself and her family.
Sam will be missed but his mark was left on many people who were touched by his love, his courage, and his immense generosity. I’m one of those people. Knowing Sam left me touched, moved, and inspired to be more like him. Sam’s legacy and most of all his enduring faith (even when he learned he was dying) was a beautiful testament to his faith in God.
Proverbs 15:22 Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.
Proverbs 21:5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.
Proverbs 16:3 Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.
Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
Sandy, Sally, and Special Needs
One of the more urgent issues in the Smith Family Financial Plan is to make sure that Sally is provided for in the event of Sandy’s passing. Sam and Sandy had spent a good deal of time (and money) designing their estate plan around the special needs of their daughter, Sally. As we move forward in the Smith Family Case Study, we’ll be focusing on estate planning while highlighting the process of setting up an effective special needs trust for Sally.
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What Issues Should I Consider For My Child With Special Needs? Families who have children with special needs must deal with a unique set of planning issues. In addition to health, educational, and care planning issues, special needs present complex financial issues for families to address.
These planning conversations are as important as they are difficult, and they require a Financial Advisor with the ability to have direct but delicate conversations. This checklist can be especially helpful for your advisory team members who are not experts with respect to individuals who have special needs.
To help guide your conversations with your Financial Advisory Team about special needs planning issues, we have created this checklist. It covers key considerations, including:
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Qualification for needs-based public benefits
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ABLE accounts and special needs trusts
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Tax planning opportunities
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Estate planning challenges
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Lifelong support considerations
Estate Planning Document Review
Estate planning is a critical aspect of the financial planning process. Reviewing your estate planning documents is an important exercise, both at the outset and throughout the planning process. However, this can be a daunting task for you, your family, and your advisors, who may find the exercise tedious and, perhaps, confusing.
To help guide your document review, we have created this . It covers key considerations regarding the most common estate planning documents, including:
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Wills
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Living Trusts
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Irrevocable Trusts
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Powers of Attorney
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Living Wills
To pair with this resource, or to guide a more general discussion with your family and Financial Advisor, please see our checklist.
Visit Missional Money Planning (Updated for 2021)
To help guide your conversations with your Financial Advisory Team about a wide range of financial planning issues, we have created a robust resource library of flowcharts, checklists, and other downloadable resources.
The Resource Library is just one of the ways we help you and your Advisory Team create a compelling plan for your future.
The Resource Library
To help guide your conversations with your Financial Advisory Team about a wide range of financial planning issues, we have created a robust resource library of flowcharts, checklists, and other downloadable resources.
The Resource Library just one of the ways we help you and your Advisory Team create a compelling plan for your future.
Legal Disclaimer: The Smith Family Case Study illustrates the hypothetical experience of a fictitious client based on a real-life scenario. All of our Case Studies are designed to generally illustrate the financial planning process and the steps each investor will need to consider in any specific situation. Always keep in mind that no two people, their financial situations, or their experience levels are exactly alike. These Case Studies are not to be construed as an endorsement of by any of our past or current clients, nor any assurance that BayRock may be able to help any client achieve Smarter Strategies and Better Results. While that is always our goal and we are confident that our planning process leads to Smarter Strategies and Better Results, none of the educational content provided in our financial planning course at should be construed by a client or prospective client of BayRock as any kind of guarantee that he/she will experience a certain level of results or satisfaction if is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide .
