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Home Page > Finance > Personal Finance > Not just another Friday: Planning for the inevitable

Not just another Friday: Planning for the inevitable

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Posted: Apr 06, 2009 |Comments: 0
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Last Friday morning as usual, I hugged, kissed and told my sons’ Nadario and Rashad that I loved them as they left for school. And as usual I told them to have a great day!  For me this was just another school day and for them I am sure they felt the same. Another Friday at school!

As they returned and we begin our ritual, which include me asking them about their day, the melancholic look on Rashad’s face indicated that it was not just another Friday at school. As he hugged and kissed me, in a low voice he lamented, “one of our teachers’ died today at school.”  Immediately, I felt his pain and begin to think of how her family must be affected by this.

I later learned that this teacher was not sick and I am sure that death was the last thing on her husband and children’s minds as they left for school and work on Friday morning.  

Unfortunately, this is not unusual, as we realize that death is a natural occurrence. What is surprising is that this is the sixth sudden death of a spouse that I have heard of in the last two weeks. Instances where a spouse left home expecting to carry out their usual daily activities and return home. But this is not what happened!

The death of a spouse is one of the most traumatic events most people will ever have to face. The necessary and inevitable grieving period immediately following such a loss is not the time to deal with difficult and often irreversible financial decisions. However, unless those considerations have been planned ahead of time, the surviving spouse not only has to scramble to make funeral arrangements, but also must try and make sense out of insurance policies, pension, mortgages, investments and other financial issues.

During such a stressful time, the fewer unknowns, the better it would be for the surviving spouse. Therefore, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of planning ahead. All couple’s owe it to themselves to sit down and put in place a financial strategy for the surviving spouse.

Your plan should include a complete and accurate listing of all the assets and real property of each spouse in one easy to reach location known to both partners. This is not the time to keep secrets.  

You should include:
* All Life insurance policies with agents’ names and how they can be contacted
* Auto and home insurance policies
* Employee benefits information
* A copy of any wills or trusts
* A list of stock and bonds owned
* Mortgage and loan information
* A list of all bank accounts and savings
* A list of all active credit cards
* A list of all financial assets and their location (such as rental property, etc.)
* If you own a business, there should be advance planning about how to either sell the business or how to properly manage the business so that it does not lose money. If there are other partners you should consider putting a buy/sell arrangements in place.

Additionally, now may be a good time to meet with an attorney to review wills and trusts and make any necessary changes and additions to your current documents. This is also a good time to discuss:
1. how property is owned,
2. how bank accounts are titled, (will the survivor have unencumbered access),
3. and review life insurance policies to make sure they name the correct beneficiaries.

An attorney can also assist in executing an “Enduring Power of Attorney.”  An Enduring Power of Attorney will give your spouse the ability to deal with your financial assets prior to your death should you become unable to do so yourself.

Another extremely important thing to remember is to maintain your insurance premiums. Sometimes in the midst of trying to care for a terminally ill spouse or in the aftermath of a death, it’s easy to let things slip. But be sure not to allow your insurances to go unpaid.

So if you really love your spouse, sit down with them today and get your affairs in order because it may not be just another Friday!

The reason why a lot of people do not know about themselves well, is because they are too busy talking about the affairs of other people than their own. —Unknown

Copyright © 2001 – 2009 – Glenn S. Ferguson

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Glenn Ferguson -
About the Author:

Glenn Ferguson is a Speaker, Coach and Syndicated Writer who helps you to demonstrate your love to yourself and family by managing two of your most valuable resources- Time and Money, to insure your health and financial well-being. Email to: glenn@financialcoachingwithglenn.com Website: www.financialcoachingwithglenn.com

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Article Tags:
life insurance, insurance, financial plan, investment, mortage, death, of a spouse

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Three or four times a year I pull the following little origination tip out of my bag and go for it. You will too when you realize how really simple this idea is, how inexpensive it is to implement, and how phenomenal the results can be for you.

The idea is a simple one…create a knockout mortgage flier…make lots of copies…and then place them on car windshields at your local Wal-Mart, Public, Winn-Dixie, or home improvement store, or whatever. Although this idea definitely falls into the super low-budget category, don’t underestimate its potential.

Here’s how you would put the plan into action…

Pick a morning and either do this yourself, or put your kids to work, or even hire a neighbor kid to help (with parent’s approval of course), and head to your chosen store. Pick the busiest time of the week and or day to do this. I usually pick my local Wal-Mart because of the huge amount of traffic they generate on weekends, especially Saturdays.

Place your black and white mortgage fliers on the windshields just under the driver side wiper blade. You’ll be surprised how many can be delivered in a short period of time.

Most folks grab the flier, get in their car, and they’re off…and, your flier is on its way home to be reviewed later by a possible prospect. Refinance and Low Rate are the themes you should use for your flier…plus some freebie report information to entice them to call you.

As the cars come and go, place new fliers on the windshields of the new shoppers and pick up any discarded fliers. In a little over three hours of casual work, we placed over 150 refinance fliers on windshields. We did wait around for a half hour and cleaned up any discards.

The result: nine calls for the free report offered on the flier resulting in five great mortgage prospects. And, best part of all…the leads were so inexpensive to generate. This is just plain old low cost “budget” originating.

That works out to a 6% response rate which is super. Using regular paper, a black and white flier, and no postage costs, this origination idea is a no-brainer.

Here are a few important points to consider that will make your program successful…

1. Always pick the retailer(s) in your area with the greatest amount traffic.

2. Pick the day of the week that results in the most traffic. Saturday is probably your first choice.

3. Use your cell phone number on your fliers.

4. Always entice a response with a freebie such as a free report(s).

5. If your web site is capable of capturing information, offer that address and your phone number.

6. Run a split test, half of your fliers with your phone number and half with your web site address.

7. Bring some snacks and cold drinks so everyone is happy.

Remember, regardless of the current economic conditions, there are always people out there that either want to refinance or want to buy a home. Your job as a Mortgage Professional is to find them. If you always go where the traffic is, and then figure out a way to reach them with your mortgage marketing message, your pipeline will always be full and profitable.

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A bad credit mortgage gives borrowers with a poor credit history the opportunity to not only buy a home or refinance their current mortgage but the best opportunity to raise their credit rating over time. In most instances, whenever you apply for any type of financial product like a mortgage, the lending institution will pull your credit report.

In a nutshell, your credit rating is a compilation of your history of how timely you’ve paid your bills. Anytime money may be lent it’s used because it’s the best way for a lender to determine the risk involved for a particular borrower.

Tip – The online lending industry is very competitive. You will find many lenders who specialize in bad credit mortgage services.

Making the decision to issue or approve a bad credit mortgage is primarily determined using the credit score of the borrower(s). Credit scores can range from 400 to 800 with anything lower than a 620 poor and anything over a 720 very good. On the other hand, even if you have a credit score as low as 580 there are many lenders with mortgage programs that will finance up to 100% of the loan amount. Of course, the lower your credit score the higher interest rate you will pay and in most instances you will only be offered an ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage) that has a 2 or 3 year fixed interest rate and then it goes up.

Tip – Most states have lending laws that state a lender can only charge interest rates a certain percentage above the retail or normal market interest rate for borrowers with bad credit. Normally this rate is 5% – 8% higher but even that in many instances is extreme.

A myth about credit reports is that each time your credit report is pulled it negatively affects your credit score. This is true only if you apply for credit products like credit cards and only if you apply for a large number of them in a short period of time. However, this does not apply in the case of mortgage lenders, unless you applied for a mortgage from a very large number (i.e. like 15 or 20) of lenders within 30 or 45 days. Only then would it be slightly affect but in general when a lender pulls your credit report it will not be negatively affected.

Tip – For options in finding the best lender for you, check out the links below.

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If you are struggling to accumulate a decent pension and starting to worry about how you are going to fund your retirement, you may have considered an equity release scheme.

Providing you have a property and are over 55, you could qualify for an equity release scheme in the form of a lifetime mortgage or a home reversion plan. Both are pretty straight forward in theory in the way that you borrow money against your house on the premise that you will pay it back in payments or through sale of the house after your death.

If the sound of an equity release scheme is confusing to you, then you could do what hundreds of other baffled people are doing and get your children to look into it for you. According to the big names in equity release, more and more people under the required age of 55 are making enquiries about equity release schemes on behalf of their parents.

So, if like so many people, you are property rich but cash poor, you could turn to your property in retirement with the help of your younger, computer minded off-spring. However, don’t forget that taking out an equity release scheme could resort in your children losing out on inheriting the family home, so tread carefully!

Nowadays the quickest and easiest way to compare financial products such as equity release schemes is through various internet websites that do most of the comparing for you. This is probably what has spurred this latest trend of people under 55 enquiring into equity release schemes, as children agree to help their parents out with the technical and at times complicated processes involved.

Just in case you aren’t lucky enough to have kids wiling to do the equity release shopping for you, here are a few tips:

1) Find out as much as you can – typing ‘equity release’ into an internet search engine, returns a wealth of information, including about Safe Home Income Plans (SHIPs) that come with guarantees that are aimed at protecting you

2) Speak to an equity release adviser who will be able to take your individual situation into account

3) Even if your family are not willing to do the research for you, make sure they are involved and not left shocked at the prospect of never inheriting the family home

4) If you decide to go ahead with a scheme, use a solicitor, like you would for a normal mortgage to help you fully understand what you are signing up for

5) Take your time – this is your house remember, so don’t act lightly

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