A couple of months ago, we held a pre-retirement webinar for those anticipating retiring in the next 5-10 years. For those who missed the event, we wanted to share the five main points Barry touched on during the webinar. We’ve finally reached the conclusion of the series. This week, we visit the question, “What will happen when I’m gone?” If you missed the previous episodes, we encourage you to go back and watch those at www.mccallandassociates.com/blog-posts. We hope you enjoy the video and find value in its contents.
Read the full transcript below.
“Be very clear with your will. Be as specific as possible. I would update it at least every five years, not only to make sure that you have taken account for any family changes, but if there are any changes in legal terminology, definition, or state laws, be sure to update that.”
Transcript
Austin Coley: Welcome to the conclusion of our pre-retirement video series. During the past five weeks, we walked through the five questions Barry answered in the pre-retirement webinar that we recently held for our clients. He answers questions such as, what am I going to do with time during the retirement? How much money am I going to need to retire? What happens if you get sick and who will take care of you when you are no longer able to take care of yourself this week? So our last question is, what's going to happen when I'm gone? Again, we hope this is a valuable resource for you, and you enjoy the video.
Barry McCall: What's going to happen when you're gone? What's going to happen with your beneficiaries and the people that you leave behind when you're gone? So under that, the answer that I'm really trying to get at is have you thought through a will, and if you haven't, its critical to do.
I would review your beneficiary designations on a frequent basis. Beneficiary designations are typically associated with life insurance policies, and any type of retirement accounts. I would also under this category, make sure that any changes that occur to your certain sources of income, whether it be annuities, pension, or social security changes, and would occur as a result of your death, they're clearly communicated to your spouse or to your beneficiaries. Again, we've seen situations where people come in and not know that their income was going to get cut dramatically because of the death of a spouse or a partner, so make sure that not only do you understand what changes occur, but those changes are clearly communicated well ahead of time so there's no surprises.
The last thing I would say is this, in terms of a will, be very clear with your will. Be as specific as possible. I would update it at least every five years, not only to make sure that you have taken account for any family changes, but if there are any changes in legal terminology, definition, or state laws, be sure to update that.
I heard recently a friend share with me that his mother passed away in another state, and after the burial, all the family gathered at her home. Within two hours, literally two hours of her burial, the family was shouting at one another over who was going to get what item because the will just wasn't very clear at all. It was very general. I'll leave it to my siblings and my children to figure that out.
The foregoing information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete, it is not a statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision, and it does not constitute a recommendation. Any opinions are those of Barry McCall and not necessarily those of Raymond James.
Past performance may not be indicative of future results. All investments are subject to risk. There is no assurance that any investment strategy will be successful. While we are familiar with the tax provisions of the issues presented herin, as Financial Advisors of RJFS, we are not qualified to render advice on tax or legal matters. You should discuss tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional.