Page 37 - Ready Set Retire

Ready. Set. Retire!

reality of life insurance is that while you pay for it with money,
you purchase it with good health. That does not mean I would
have insisted he buy life insurance from me...it just means I
would have urged him to have enough life insurance to take
care of his family. This is standard practice for us. When a
client works with me, we first encourage them to have the
basics...wills, trusts, survivorship planning, etc., covered. We
offer reasonably priced access to legal services right in our
office for this very reason.

The next thing that would have happened would have been
how the money would have been allocated after he died. We
would never have recommended she put her life savings in
energy partnerships. I would have urged her to put her money
in a savings arrangement that would have kept her money safe,
provided a reasonable rate of return, and been available to her
and her family when needed. There are instruments and
accounts that guarantee no losses, provide reasonable rates of
return, and can provide guaranteed lifetime income. I wish for
her sake her advisor had done just that. She and her young
daughters would have been much better off.

The lesson here is if you don’t understand what your advisor
is suggesting, DON’T DO IT. It’s not up to your advisor to
make your decisions, and you should not abdicate them. We
believe it’s your advisor’s job to educate and coach you. That’s

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