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(Complete Show Notes Below)
In this 26th episode of the Financial Procast:
Estate Planning-It's Not Just for Rich People
When's the last time you reviewed your beneficiary designations on your life insurance policy(s), retirement accounts (IRA's, 401k's, etc.) and your will/trust/medical directives? If you're anything like most of us, you’ve probably not re-visited your documents as recently as you should have.
Now's the time to think about those things and make sure that all the people you intend to inherit and/or disinherit will get or not get your assets as you intend them to. We remind you that a will is merely a list of suggestions to be carried out by whoever you appoint as executor. Wills can be and have successfully been challenged in court. Also, remember that whatever's in your will still has to pass through the probate process.
Why does any of that matter?
Well, it means that any creditor or people who happen to pop up and decide you owed them money have the ability to file a claim against your estate. This can be a real headache for your heirs, so make sure that you've tightened up all your loose ends and its best not to drag your feet about it.
Ever Wonder How to Evaluate Your Investment Rate of Return?
We are diving into this topic despite the fact that we've written a few posts in the past discussing this topic. It's just one of those things that come up over and over again so we thought it would be great to discuss it openly here on the Financial Procast.
If you'd like to see our posts on the subject, here they are:
Why Stock Market Returns Matter…But Not for the Reasons You Probably Thought
Compound Annual Growth Rate vs. Average Annual Return–Wall Street’s Greatest Sleight of Hand
Is a Sales Culture Hurting Our Industry?
We think so and in fact we spend quite a bit of time discussing how it is that we feel there needs to be a monumental shift in our industry to educate and train better agents/advisers, not educate and train better salespeople. We're not unrealistic by any stretch and we wholeheartedly believe that sales are a crucial component of any business. Our inner-capitalist-pig definitely needs sales to be fed…right?
But…we believe that most of the culture within the financial services industry should be scrapped.
Sure, we sell insurance products to earn a commission, not trying to conceal that fact at all. Just so happens that my kids like to eat at least three times a day. But, our selling is done through providing timely and relevant information to people seeking it. We don't force ourselves upon unsuspecting or unwilling prospects. If they choose to seek out our expertise, we love to help, but if not that's okay too.
Why is that so bad?
Contact us if you have any questions regarding this episode or if you have any questions at all. We're always glad to help.
