by Josh Stelzer
Over the years we have had the experience of helping many clients move through different phases of their financial lives. A question that seems to come up year after year is how to protect a spouse or dependant, by ensuring the continuation of your Snider Method account after your death.
Creating a succession plan is a very important piece to the financial planning puzzle. By creating a plan and educating those who will ultimately be left behind, you can provide your loved ones a great deal of comfort in a very turbulent time of loss.
The first step is finding out exactly what will happen to your assets upon your death. Depending on how you have your account titled (JTWROS, Trust, IRA, etc), there can be several different outcomes for your funds post-death. It’s important to speak with an estate planning attorney or competent financial advisor so that you’re fully aware of the impact of these decisions. Speaking with an estate planning attorney is the best way to ensure that your wishes are actually carried out the way you intended after your death.
Now that you’ve verified how your assets will pass on to your beneficiaries, you can focus on how they will be invested. The use of a trust may allow you to set guidelines for the investment decisions within your accounts.
A trustee should be appointed to act as a fiduciary and will have to act within the guidelines outlined in your trust agreement. Using spend-thrift provisions can be a great way to prevent your beneficiary from blowing through their inheritance, while still providing them with an additional income source.
Another question we consistently hear is, “I’ve been trading my account for years, and my spouse has no interest in trading whatsoever. What should I do?”
My first answer to this question is to communicate with your spouse. Find out what they would like to have happen in the event of your passing, and make sure that you have a plan in place to meet those objectives. Many times this objective seems to be continuing this income source throughout the rest of their lives. If your spouse has no interest in trading, and still needs the income stream after your death, Asset Management could be the answer.
For years we have been providing Asset Management services to our clients for various needs. Succession planning has definitely proven to be a popular trend and we have a process in place to help you along the way.
Generally we like to start by holding an informal consultation meeting with you and your spouse or dependant to verify the goals and objectives for the future. This meeting not only allows us to fully understand what you wish to take place, but also allows your spouse or dependant to “place a face with a name” for future needs. This will prove to be very helpful for your family members when dealing with a significant loss.
If you would like to setup a meeting with our team, please click here and we will be happy to schedule your free consultation. The two most important takeaways from this article are:
#1. Inform your loved ones on what will take place in the event of your premature death. Educating them on what you have prepared will only make their lives easier in a very difficult time.
#2. Take action now. The stories of people dying without a plan are unfortunately extremely common. Do your family a favor by putting a plan in place today, so that you can rest assured that your family is taken care of in the future.
