A Personal Story That Is Not Easy To Share…

I would like to ask you to please spend some time reading this personal story of mine.  I am FULLY confident that you will find something in this story…some special message…that will make your life better…and end up being worth a few minutes of your time.

When it comes to financial planning, I will spare you the boring details about the importance of have a plan in place for the unexpected, using things like Umbrealla Policies, Life Insurance, Wills, Trusts, Estate Planning, Disability Insurance, Long-Term Care Insurance. etc.

In the past I might have boasted about how well-versed and experienced I am with creating strategies to protect my clients…and my own family…against the unexpected.  But the truth is, things in my life have changed a lot since I lost my mother on Thanksgiving Day of 2008.

Looking back…

Since nobody in my family had ever really dealt with losing a “close” family member before, we had no idea what to “expect”.  In fact, we didn’t know and we didn’t plan for this outcome in any way, simply because we never once expected to be in ”that situation”.  We never talked about what would happen “afterwards” because talking about her death was an unspoken, unlikely, and unacceptable outcome that never crossed our minds.

I can vividly remember feeling so disappointed that I didn’t even know what to do next, or who to turn to.  I also remember realizing that I didn’t know what my mother would have really wanted with regards to the many details of her end-of-life plans and preferences.  Why?  Because I had the courage to ask.  It was simply never the right time.

When she passed, it was all so confusing and awkward that I honestly don’t even feel comfortable talking about it.   But what I can talk about is what happened ”afterwards”.   My next memory is that right about the time when the enormity of the situation was just starting to sink in, we were sitting in a local Funeral Home, surrounded by various types of caskets and urns, reviewing a two-sided legal page (General Price List) which is filled with dozens of funeral planning options…all of which probably add up to well over $200,000.

Now please keep in mind that the last thing in the world any of us wanted to do was think about all of these kinds of options, much less have to make decisions regarding any of the financial aspects.

Things I bet you never thought about…

Here is a list of some other challenges we faced that, I would bet most of you have never thought about either.  Keep in mind that all of these decisions are usually made by most families, including ours, with little or zero education and guidance:

• How do we determine which Funeral Home, Cemetery, or Funeral Director?
• How do we arrange and notify family members and/or loved ones who live out of town?  Who contacts who?
• Trying to determine exactly what type of memorial service is most appropriate?  Do you celebrate a life?  Do you mourn?
• Knowing whether there was a preference to be cremated or buried?
• Choosing among many different types of caskets or urns?
• Where should the body or ashes finally rest?
• How would you want your plans and preferences to work with regards to your religion?  Do you know which Church?  Which Priest?
• Who should be invited, and how do you locate all their names and numbers?
• Who will pay for these funeral expenses, and how will this be paid for?
• Who will give a eulogy at the memorial service?  Who will do a reading?
• What is funeral etiquette with regards to dress, time, date, day, etc.?
• Will there be a gathering after the memorial service?  If so, who should be invited?
• How do you place an obituary? What should it say?  Who should handle this?
• Do you want to request flowers or donations?
• Choosing among pictures, music, videos, and much, much more…

So Here’s My Take…

They say “everything happens for a reason“.  Well, even though there will never be a valid “reason” to lose a loved one in my mind, I can say that this experience opened my eyes to a lot of things that have previously gone unnoticed.   And as time passes, the one thing in particular that is becoming crystal clear is the fact that in all my years of financial education and training, I have never once heard someone so much as talk about how to help the families we serve by encouraging them to create an end-of-life plan.

Well my friends, it is time for change.  Together with many of the finest Association and Organizations in the Funeral and Financial Planning industries, I am going to be speaking LOUDLY, BOLDLY, AND CLEARLY about this need for change when it comes to building a complete financial plan.

I am also getting ready to release something I’ve worked very hard to create, which you can see here:

3-Step Guide to Creating a Smart End-Of-Life Plan

In the financial planning industry, it is very rare if financial advisors can ever use that dangerous word “guarantee“.   And if we do, it is manadatory that we accompany any “guarantee” with prospectus containing extensive legal disclaimers and warnings!

However, when you look at this from a real-life experience like I now can, financial advisors actually have something that we can GUARANTEE EVERY CLIENT…which is that some day we will all die…and regrettably, sometimes we will die MUCH sooner than anyone could have ever imagined or planned.

Each of us has TWO CHOICES…

1. CONTINUE TO DO NOTHING

Don’t plan for this guaranteed outcome in any way, knowing that you will be leaving your family to suffer through all of these unnecessary emotional decisions and financial pressures…and many others.

2.  PLAN TODAY

Put in the time and effort that your family DESERVES and create a sound and comprehensive End-of-Life Plan.

My mission going forward…

My goals is to take my personal experience and learn from it, and turn it into a positive experience by helping families become more educated, empowered, and most importantly, well-prepared.  I want to make my mother very proud one day as she looks down and sees that her never-ending and selfless love continues to live on forever.

Like many of the best things in life, End-Of-Life Planning is not fun to talk about or think about, and it’s certainly not easy to plan for either.  But there is an old saying that holds true here, which is;

“The difference between failure and success is largely determined by the amount of time and preparation you put into planning for the future.”

After all, what better gift can you leave your family than showing them that you selflessly made time, you took that extra step, and you sacrificed a small part of your life to:

Prove your love by putting THEIR best interests before yours…or put another way, one of your their last memories will be knowing that your main concern was doing everything possible to make THEIR lives better.

The one thing I can assure you from my own personal experience, it is this kind of true  and unselfish love that actually makes YOU the real recipient of this great gift!

I think watching this video should help too…

Christopher P. Hill, Founder

http://www.funeralresources.com