Posted on May 9, 2011 by Deirdre Wheatley-Liss

What's In an Estate Plan - The Wealthy and Wise Episode 2

Check out the second episode of The Wealthy and Wise. 

In this episode we acknowledge that that estate plans can seem remote, mysterious, complicated and expensive when you don’t know “What makes up an estate plan” and don’t have an overview the information necessary to make informed decisions about your estate.We clear the air on the episode of The Wealthy and Wise as we talk to you about:

What makes up an estate plan?
What happens to your assets if you die without an estate plan?
Determining your net worth from an estate perspective
Sorting out powers of attorney, living wills, health care proxy and advanced directives
Your beneficiaries – who gets your assets, how and when?
Is the government your beneficiary?
How are trusts tools to protect money?
Probate v. Non-Probate assets
And much, much more

The goal of The Wealthy and Wise, as always, is to educate you about how you can take steps in your own life to protect and build your wealth. How’d we do? We’d love your questions and comments, either below or to questions@thewealthyandwise.com. You may find yourself featured in an upcoming episode or podcast!

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Posted on April 1, 2011 by Deirdre Wheatley-Liss

How to Choose an Investment Advisor - The Wealthy and Wise Episode 1 (Video)

The Wealthy and Wise Community is finally here!  Its aim: Educate the middle-class millionaire so they are empowered to take action to meet their goals about building and building their wealth.

 

There are people who make a career out of investing and growing your money for a reason - it is a full time job, and as with all jobs, experience can make for better decisions. This is not to say that you can't successfully invest on your own - many people do. One problem that I see is people being intimidated by the idea of a financial advisor.  They think that they don't have enough money, or that that they won't understand what the advisor is saying.  I don't think either of these are true, as long as you have the right advisor for you.

So how do you find the right advisor for you?  We talk about it in the video above, but some starting points include:

  • Ask for recommendations from people that you know and trust - it could be family, friends, attorneys, accountants.  Get several and research the people of the web.
  • Interview several advisors - like attorneys, they come in all shapes and sizes and there are many different approaches to investing.  Beyond thinking that person is knowledgeable, you should like them on a personal level and feel comfortable taking with them.
  • Make sure you understand how the advisor gets paid. Investing is a business, and people are and should be compensated.  There are different ways to get paid.  Remember, it is your money however, so you need to understand exactly how an advisor is compensated for any work you do.
  • How often will you and the advisor be communicating?  Good advisors meet their clients no less than quarterly (whether by phone or in person) and some monthly.  How often do you want to be reviewing and discussing finances? And how?
  • Finally, have an honest discussion with yourself.  Will working with a financial advisor add value to you?  Value can be many reasons - you think you will be more successful, you don't like doing it, you don't have time, you want to learn more.  If it will, consider retaining one.

 

 

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