Find the Will Power

Continuing Education for Financial Service Professionals

Find the Will Power

Find the Will Power Copyright Š 2016 CLIFE Inc. All rights reserved. Any reproduction of parts or all of this course and its contents by any means electronic or mechanical is prohibited.

The information in this book is provided for educational purposes only; it should not be construed or interpreted as providing advice. Agents and advisors should always seek guidance from their principals and compliance experts in regards to informing themselves and others about details of the products they sell and other considerations of their business.

We welcome all feedback and suggestions for additions to the book. Please send your comments to info@clifece.ca.

CLIFE INC. 1595 Sixteenth Avenue Suite 301 Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3N9 www.clifece.ca

Find the Will Power provides continuing education credits upon satisfactory completion of an online test.

Please see the website for details or email info@clifece.ca.

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Contents

Time to Review

4

Reasons to Review a Will

6

Power of Attorney (POA)

8

The Will to Review

16

Asset Inventory Form Estate Planning Exercise Beneficiary Endowments Form Conclusions Regarding the Will Review

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Time to Review  Quite simply, a financial plan should encompass a review of the will, and related documents such as a power of attorney.  Doing so --- and developing an associated asset inventory to support directions in the will --- can be the basis for developing a net worth statement. 

Plus, you can learn a lot about a prospect or the client and his plans through looking at the will. You’ll learn about financial plans for the spouse and children that may have insurance implications; you’ll learn something about the complexity of the estate and the sophistication of the client; you’ll also develop an understanding of client priorities. All of this can be vital to conducting thorough needs’ analysis.

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Here’s a frightening fact from the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA): In a survey conducted within the last three years, 75% of those surveyed said they look to their advisor for financial advice and, on average, it had been five years since they were approached about their needs and coverages. o Because this finding is an average, that meant half the people surveyed had not been approached for more than five years.

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What changes have you experienced in the last five years? Don’t you think the same may be true for clients with whom you haven’t met regularly and often? The heavy lifting you had to do to get the business and acquire the client’s initial trust may go to waste if you don’t sustain the effort.

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Offer a will review with a view to ensuring that the will corresponds with stated estate and financial plans.

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Ensure that ownership of assets is correctly stated --- you learn later important points of differentiation between joint tenancy and tenants-incommon.

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Give your prospects and clients your learned opinions and the facts you know --- but do not overstep your bounds and stray into providing legal advice. Your review may show legal input is needed but make sure your suggestions stop short of legal directives. Recognize when it’s time to call in the lawyer.

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