An Opportunity For Meaningful Conversations About Finances

Gathering with family throughout the holiday season presents a perfect opportunity to have important, albeit potentially difficult, conversations about the future of your affairs. Having a plan in place in case of death or disability – while not enjoyable to think about – can alleviate administrative pains, minimize family disputes, and ensure assets are protected. When you’ve established that plan, it’s of the utmost importance that it is properly communicated to your loved ones.

We’ve put together a few strategies and resources to help you have — and continue — these critical conversations:

FIRST…

If you haven’t had the chance to discuss these issues yet, our Having the ‘Money Talk’ piece provides tips and a checklist to help you broach the subject with confidence.

We also have a webinar that addresses the importance of these conversations, how to approach these topics, what to discuss, and how Cassaday can help.

Once you’ve had conversations about these sensitive topics, it’s important to make sure communication does not end there.

NEXT…

Consider filling out a copy of the What My Family Should Know document and using it as a prompt to revisit these conversations at least once a year.

This document creates a central repository for all important information related to your life, including where important items are located. Review this information and make any necessary changes. You should also set aside time to review your estate plan, insurance policies, powers of attorney, and other important legal documents to ensure they still meet your goals and wishes.

Don’t forget – Cassaday & Company, Inc. clients can take advantage of memorializing this document by uploading it to their secure client portal.

CONSIDER…

If you have not declared a Client Advocate or trusted contact yet, you may want to bring this up in conversation as well.

Many financial institutions are now offering an additional layer of protection called a ‘trusted contact’ — a security feature intended to safeguard clients from fraud and abuse.

At Cassaday & Company, our clients may know their ‘trusted contact’ to be referred to as their ‘Client Advocate,’ as we have always offered our clients the opportunity to declare a trusted person in their life as a contact we can communicate with in the event we notice signs of cognitive decline.

Please note that this is not designating Power of Attorney. Read more about what being a ‘trusted contact’ or ‘Client Advocate’ means here.

If you have questions about declaring an advocate or are ready to name one, contact your advisor.

Conversations about death or disability can sometimes be uncomfortable, however having these discussions early will help you feel reassured that your finances and affairs are in order and being managed according to your wishes.

Whether you’re a parent bringing up these topics with your adult child, or a child bringing these topics up with a parent, always remember to be sensitive to the other’s concerns.

Your advisor can also help facilitate these conversations or help at any point in the process. Please contact your advisor if you would like to set up a family meeting for these purposes or have any additional questions.