Page 16 - Ready Set Retire

Stephen J. Kelley

“Then why the insistence on keeping your assets separate from
each other? It’s only damaging you financially.”

She couldn’t or wouldn’t say, and I was getting frustrated
because, if they insisted on this way of life, I could not help
them.

A little later, in one meeting, she mentioned the home she grew
up in. Thinking I heard wrong, I pressed her on it. It turned
out she had been an orphan as a child. She lived in various
homes and in the system. Suddenly, the light went on. I now
understood her need to keep all her assets and holdings in her
own name. As a child, she had nothing she could call her own.
As she grew older, she vowed that would never happen again.
The good news for them was Dan was astute, and loved her
enough, to adapt to her needs, and so they had a wonderful
relationship, even though they were doing damage to
themselves financially.

Discovering this detail, this truth, which no one even thought
to ask about or bring up, unblocked them and we finally moved
forward. The plan we came up with coordinates their assets
and income, and structures it so they will have plenty of
income to meet their foreseeable expenses, and ample savings
to deal with the unknown. They are both able to sleep at night
knowing they have financial security they can rely on. This is

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