"You Might Think About Getting Your Affairs in Order"

"You might think about getting your affairs in order." In the movies, this advice is generally given by a doctor after delivering grave news to a patient. Fortunately, you probably have more than a few months to live, but the advice is still sound. 

Keeping one's financial affairs "in order" is a foundational financial planning concept. While not a complete list, the following are examples:

• Do you have a Will/Powers of Attorney? If so, have the documents been updated within the past few years, or after your most recent "life event" (marriage, divorce, children, grandchildren, etc.)?
• Do your executor/adult children know your wishes and where important documents are stored?
• Are your insurances adequate and updated?
• Are your beneficiary designations accurate? 

In previous iThrive Ideas, we've discussed how financial success is often predicated on avoiding mistakes ...having your affairs 'out of order' would be one of those mistakes. If you've ever been the executor of an estate, you know exactly how important these simple details can be. 

The following is a real-life example shared with the client's permission. While reviewing this client's insurances, we noticed that the beneficiary of one of their life policies was an name we didn't recognize as a relative. As it turns out, the policy originated as part of a buy/sell agreement from a business they sold to a partner years prior. The well-paid lawyers missed this detail at the time the business was sold, and the simple mistake would have cost our client's intended beneficiaries hundreds of thousands of dollars. The proceeds of the life insurance would have gone to the prior business partner rather than our client's family. 

We look forward to helping you keep your "financial affairs in order", and welcome the opportunity to sit down with you, either remotely or in person.