Investment During Illness And Disability
Have you planned for the ‘what ifs’ in your financial life? If you were too ill to manage your investments, who would manage them for you? You must create a financial plan to manage your assets in the event that you become disabled. And, your plan must be put into place before a disaster, or if ‘what ifs’ occur. Preparing a seamless plan to manage investments will enable your financial plan to continue moving forward in the event of an unforeseen incident occurring…
If you become ill or disabled and do not have a retirement transition plan, the following can occur:
- You will have abdicated control of how your money will be managed
- You may create substantial personal and financial stress for your loved ones
- Your accounts could become frozen while the courts determine how to proceed with your financial affairs
- Your family may not know where to locate financial documents needed to manage your affairs
- Your Guardian may inadvertently dispose of your best investments, placing the proceeds into non-interest bearing checking accounts
- Your income taxes may increase as your portfolio is restructured
- Your assets could become depleted
- You cannot name a family member or friend to manage your assets in accordance with your wishes
- It may be too late for you to explain to others how you wish your assets to be managed
Most people assume that a family member would simply step in to manage their financial affairs in the event that they become ill or disabled. Unfortunately, if proper steps to outline your wishes have not been taken, it is possible that the courts step in to control your financial affairs.
To maintain investment continuity in the event of an illness, follow these 8 steps:
- Have a properly executed Durable Power of Attorney.
- Consider preparing a Living Trust agreement if appropriate
- Name several successors for the persons designated in both your Power of Attorney and your Living Trust
- Depending upon your state of residence, you may be able to execute a “Designation of Guardian” form
- Verify that your current investment firms will accept your firms for designating your successor. If they do not, fill out and file their ‘in house’ forms.
- Prepare an updated inventory of your investment accounts, account numbers and relevant advisors along with their contact information.
- Meet with the individual(s) you have designated as your successor and review your forms and account information. Place an extra copy of this information in a safe place and also provide duplicate copies of the information with your family attorney.
- If you name a financial institution as your successor, verify the fees that may be charged as they can vary greatly from firm to firm.
There are no guarantees in life. Life can change in the blink of an eye. In the event that your life takes a sudden turn for the worse, you need to have a plan in place to take care of those that matter most to you. Trippon Wealth Management has over 30 years of experience in preparing for such events. Some of America’s most wealthiest families have trusted our financial planning and retirement planning experience to assist them in not only MAKING them money, but KEEPING the money they have earned.