Finance

Building a Financial Picture

By Kathryn Bryan

As we age, we begin to develop a sense of urgency to cross off items on our bucket list: Get our house in order, travel, and make sure that we have our wills and estate planning done. In the past 10 years as a financial planner, I know that older adults often “forget” to have those hard conversations with their adult children about what they want to happen when they die, what assets they may have, and who’s on their financial team. Too many times, adult children struggle not only with the grief of losing a parent, but also with putting together the financial puzzle their parents may have left for them. Unlike a puzzle that comes with the picture to solve, children often are left with pieces that don’t seem to fit together and are both frustrating and costly to manage.

Connecting Parts & Pieces

To overcome this issue, talk about these matters with your adult children. Who comprises a financial team? It could include your financial planner; investment advisor representative; estate planning/business planning attorney; CPA and life, auto, and home insurance agents. Each carries an important piece of your financial picture. Another key is to share or to have in place the following: -Names, companies or firms, phone numbers, and emails of each person on your financial team -Account numbers and the company with which they are held -Online logins and passwords or codes -Copies of your will, healthcare and financial power of attorney, living wills, and trusts -Bank safe deposit information -Auto, home insurance, and life insurance policies You can add more to the list, but this should help your family put the picture together. It is also a great idea to introduce your financial team to your children at some point so they can put a name with a face. In the event that you may be showing signs of dementia or are unable to manage your finances, your children or financial power of attorney may be the ones that will need to pay bills, manage care, and pay for long-term care costs. As a financial professional, it is much easier to have these conversations and work with your family if we have already met. Occasionally, I have noticed that a client has shown odd behavior or signs of dementia and I have been able to alert their son or daughter. And your financial professional may be the first line of defense against scams. If a client calls me to ask for a large sum of money, and they’ve never done that before, it could be a red flag that something is amiss. How you were raised probably dictates how you pass that information on to your children. Families are becoming more open about their wishes. It doesn’t mean you need to let your children know how much money you have, but at least discuss where they can get the information they will need if you are unable to manage on your own. Review your information every few years, update documents, and introduce family members to your important team of financial professionals.