Estate Planning as a Career

Over the years we have all heard that we can do more with much less effort by understanding the power behind leverage. In this month’s column I would like to shed light on some powerful leverage options that you may want to considered during the estate planning process with clients.

Pose a problem and ask for a solution from four different advisors (Insurance professional, Investment professional, Attorney and an Accountant) and you will get four different solutions, each from a different perspective. This is because different advisors have different opinions it’s difficult to know who’s right. When this occurs, more often than not, the end result is….NOTHING! The client does nothing, because he or she isn’t sure who or what is correct. “This is why estate planning doesn’t work! That’s right, traditional estate planning does not work.” This is exactly what Gordon a successful planner in the wealth creation and preservation field said during a recent meeting we had with mutual clients. As they sat listening intently in our office as Gordon successfully recreate the thinking behind their dad’s decision to create a wealth preservation plan that modeled his life values.

“Didn’t our dad already have an estate plan?” David’s son and daughter asked. They just couldn’t understand why their dad, as a retired small business owner, had engaged in wealth planning at age 78, after he had already done estate planning when he had retired from his business over 13 years ago.

As I listened to their questions and concerns. Gordon answered, “David, your dad wanted to leave his family an inheritance of more than just his money. He wanted to pass on his ethical will and values and he wanted to leave a lasting legacy to his community.”

“It’s all about dreams and fingerprints. That’s what people want to use their wealth for. Gordon continued. “Hav (more…)