He's been with me for about 20 years. Before him, I depended on the mercies of a major financial corporation. This guy was originally with that corporation, and then was lured away to a small financial firm. Which meant he was able to service me individually in a way he couldn't when with the major financial corporation.
This man has done very well for me. He's made good, appropriate investments, including two annuities, which are a significant part of my current income. Also a policy that will pay generously if I need assisted living or a nursing home. And if I never need any of those, a good payout after I'm gone. He also got me into a life insurance policy that will provide some nice security to the two beneficiaries.
I am still quite capable of managing things, but I know that if I live long enough, that will not remain the case. Which is why I have various things in place. Not just what I mentioned above with the financial planner, but a will and a trust. Really, really, all of you who read this need a will. You might possibly need a trust also, depending on your actual assets. Discuss it with the person helping write your will. He or she will know and can tell you if you need trust work.
Something else to consider. If you die intestate, meaning without a will, your state's laws determine where your assets go. Which may or may not coincide with what you'd like to happen. But here's something else. My son died in 2017. He was 30 years old, and he did have a will, mainly because as soon as he'd turned 18 I took him off to our attorney to write a will. He had certain financial assets, thanks to generous grandparents, which I know isn't typical. Anyway, when he died, he had a will in place. It was very simple and left everything to his brother. It still took nearly a year to complete probate. Oh, my.
My point is that settling an estate, with or without a will (and without is truly stupid since writing a simple will isn't that hard or expensive) takes a lot longer than you might think.
And DON'T take the attitude that "I won't be here, why should I care?" That's beyond selfish. You need to have the experience of settling someone's estate. After that, you would never think that way.
Kind of like clearing out someone's house after they've died. I have a friend whose wife died about two months ago, and I and a couple of other friends have been helping him clear out her stuff. She had a sewing room with a TON of cloth. And notions. Another friend cleared out a walk-in closet. Yesterday a friend and I cleared out her part of the bathroom. Why on God's Earth would someone save dozens and dozens of plastic caps utterly escapes me. But that was part of what we tossed. Oh, dear lord that woman saved everything. My advice to everyone who might read this is to get rid of crap. Really. Most of what you are saving has zero value, so get rid of it.
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