My Disaster Plan

Richard, once again, is taking the opportunity to respond to client concerns rather than interviewing a guest on the podcast today. In this episode, he looks at Disaster Plans, the important role they play, and what documents are included in them. Drawing upon his own recent and tragic experience of losing his wife, Mary, he also provides compelling examples which clearly demonstrate the necessity for everyone to be prepared for any eventuality, and to generate these plans which will help ensure financial stability for themselves and their families.

Finally, Richard emphasizes the importance of reviewing current account values, and offers an exercise for listeners to engage in that will help calculate their financial readiness for retirement.

Download the full transcript here

Highlights:

– A Disaster Plan is made up of 5 documents.
– Have a will and powers of attorney.
– Review your life insurance policies.
– Have what Richard calls joint ownership with rights of survivorship.
– Review your disability insurance.
– Have a document prepared and reviewed by yourself and updated regularly with the list of all your assets, and who to speak to in the event that you are no longer here.
– Review your current account values and determine the approximate amount of money that you need in retirement.

Quotes:

“My personal life, as you know, changed on January the 15th when my own wife passed away.”

“Unfortunately, many Canadians die each year without a will or powers of attorney and even more die with a will or powers of attorney that are not current and no longer reflect their current wishes.”

“If you were to die today, would your family be financially stable or would their world turn upside down because of money worries?”

“If you do have the assets such as a bank account in joint ownership with rights of survivorship, on your passing, your beneficiary will automatically own that particular investment without it going through probate fee, and it will also save a tremendous amount of time.”

“I suggest that if you don’t have disability insurance, you consider buying some coverage.”

“When Mary passed away, I realized that I did not have her passwords to her bank accounts nor her iPhone nor her personal computer.”

“My opinion is keep doing the things that you are passionate about and of which you have a special skill.”