Life changes come in many forms. Some are joyous occasions—marriage, the birth of a new child, a job promotion, sending a child to college, selling or starting a business, or one of our mainstays, retirement.
Other times life changes are more challenging. These might include the passing of a family member, an unexpected illness, divorce, or sending a child to college. Yes, we purposely mentioned college twice! (While wonderful, we know college can be very expensive for parents and sometimes a heartbreaking transition).
Whether your life change is good or bad or somewhere in between, the event almost always requires an immediate ‘financial response,’ which in some cases can mean minor or substantial adjustments to a person’s financial plan. Here are a few examples of what we mean:
- Marriage – marriage often means merging finances in some form, which, from an investment standpoint, could be cause for opening a JTWROS (joint tenant with rights of survivorship) account or perhaps a TOC (tenants in common) account. And since marriage is a commitment to building a future with your partner, it could also be a great opportunity to map out your financial future with clear goals in an investment plan. There is also the matter of adjusting beneficiaries on all qualified plans and retirement accounts, and perhaps considering changes to life and health insurances.
- Sending a Child to College – in an ideal scenario, you speak with your financial advisor a full 17 or 18 years before actually having to send a child to college. That way, ample time can be devoted to saving and investing in preparation. But if college is a more immediate need, it could be good to speak with a financial advisor before upending any aspect of your financial life. Often times, parents make the mistake of dropping all retirement savings for years, so they can help pay for college. While altruistic, that decision could have adverse long-term consequences for retirement, and may not be the optimal way to go.
- Passing of a Family Member – losing a family member is difficult enough, but it often creates a new set of challenges as assets need to be accounted for, distributed, and managed. Generally speaking, these adjustments can take a lot of time and require mountains of paperwork. Having a trusted financial advisor can help give you peace of mind that the appropriate actions are being taken not only expeditiously, but also correctly.
Did You Just Experience a Life Change, or Expect One Soon? WrapManager Can Help.
Those are just a few examples of life changes and the hypothetical responses a person might make—it is certainly not an exhaustive list and the amount of work and planning required is often much greater. One of our goals at WrapManager is to be there for our clients when life changes occur, so we can do the heavy lifting of adjusting your investment plan and advising you on the next course of action—to help alleviate worry or stress.
Do you have a life change that you think could affect your financial situation and that you need help with? Call one of our WealthManagers today at 1-800-541-7774 or email us at wealth@wrapmanager.com to share your experience and ask us questions. We’re here to listen and help.
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