As life progresses through the years, most people might agree that things tend to get a bit more complicated. It may feel like ages ago when you remember a time without a mountain of bills to pay, real estate to manage, growing and diverging bank, retirement, and investment accounts, just to name a few. At a certain point you have so many balls in the air, it may feel impossible to not drop one or two. We often rationalize the ever-increasing complicated nature of our lives, as a good thing: with more complications, there’s growth. However, we started to notice with our clients, that isn’t always the case.
Take John Doe, for example. John has 2 bank accounts with Bank 1, because that’s where he handled his first mortgage. He has 3 accounts with Bank 2 because he went to that bank years ago when it was right around the corner from where he no longer lives, so on and so forth. Often times, clients like John may not even realize how unnecessarily complicated their assets have become, until we sit down and see what’s there. What John doesn’t realize, and most people don’t, is that when it comes to ease of managing someone’s estate after they’ve passed, having 15 accounts with one institution, verses 15 accounts with varying institutions, makes a world of difference.
After someone passes away, more often than not, the little accounts, bonds, stocks, etc., give the families of our client’s the most trouble. After someone has passed away, the last thing their family should be worrying about is going to 15 different institutions to get everything taken care of.
Because this has become such a pressing issue, our office has begun to implement our SAVeT™ system. SAVeT™ stands for: Simplification, Alignment, Verification, and Tracking. Simplification and consolidation are becoming increasingly vital to the process, as it is the best way to ensure a smooth process at the end. Playing into the alignment process that allows assets to not have to pass through probate court, the fewer institutions we align with, the better the entire process goes. Once simplified and aligned, our dedicated team ensures with each institution that things are aligned exactly the way they need to be. Our ongoing client care program is where tracking comes in. As your life circumstances and assets change, we track those changes to ensure that your estate plan will work not only when you first hired us, but that it would work today as well.
Life can get so complicated, let us help you simplify.
To learn more about how Family Estate Planning Law Group can be there for you as you age and more about our unique estate planning process, explore our blog and visit our website to schedule your free consultation today!
–Written by Rachel Hicks from Family Estate Planning Law Group.