As a volunteer firefighter for over 35 years I have learned that when the tones go out calling us to service that something bad has happened. My job at that point is to make the situation better as best as I can. I have been witness to some very sad situations over the years and some stay with you more than others.
I have also been in the financial services business almost as long as I have the fire service, and at times there is some “crossover”. It is with that in mind that I hope to make a potential bad situation better, before it happens.
Everyone is busy these days, with careers, families and many other things that take up time in our daily lives. Sitting down and reviewing your finances, life insurance and other seemingly mundane things can often times be put on the back burner.
Many years ago, I responded to a very serious automobile accident that claimed the lives of 2 of the 4 people involved, one of them a client of mine. It had been some time since my client and I had gotten together for a review and unbeknownst to me he had remarried.
Over time a horrible situation turned even worse as the current wife was not the beneficiary of his sizable life insurance policy. It was a very sad time as it ended up in court and dragged out for a long time. The outcome is not as important as the message that it sends.
I cannot tell you how many times in our annual reviews with our clients that we find incorrect beneficiaries, not only on life insurance, but 401k’s, IRA’s and many other contracts that people own. These are simple fixes, but they need to be addressed.
We all have the best intentions of doing what is best for our loved ones, but intentions do not insure that what we want to have happen will happen.
I encourage you to sit down and double check that you have done the right thing and provided for your family the way that you intended.
If only one family is saved the grief and sorrow that these families went through I will be happy.