October 3, 2025 • 37 mins
Who You Gonna Call? ... Not Ghostbusters
In this episode of Something More with Chris Boyd, Chris is joined by Jeff Perry and
Russ Ball from the AMR team at Wealth Enhancement. The dialogue begins with brief
commentary on the ongoing Government Shutdown and the potential economic impacts.
Next, they dive into the crucial but often overlooked aspect of financial and estate
planning. The conversation focuses on organizing your assets and key contacts for life's
unexpected moments. From digital accounts and estate documents to everyday service
providers and emergency contacts, they explore how a simple “Who to Call” list can
make a world of difference for your loved ones. The trio reflects on insights from our
recent webinar with Digital Wrangler Kate Huffnagle - check the show notes for a link!
Whether you are the one managing the household finances or just want to ensure your
family is prepared, this episode is packed with practical advice to help you get organized
and stay ready.
#FinancialPlanning #EstatePlanning #DigitalLegacy #WealthManagement
#ChrisBoyd #WealthEnhancementGroup #Preparedness #FamilyFinance
#LegacyPlanning
Click the link below to review the recent episode with the Digital Wrangler:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzaB0ubhqPI&list=PLzxw58ckeLybSvPMh2C7
p9dcRTLuyB3N6&index=69
For more information or to reach TEAM AMR, click the following link:
https://www.wealthenhancement.com/s/advisor-teams/amr
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to something more with Chris Boyd.
Chris Boyd is a certified financial planner, practitioner
and senior vice president and financial advisor at
Wealth Enhancement Group, one of the nation's largest
registered investment advisors.
We call it something more because we'd like
to talk not only about those important dollar
and cents issues, but also the quality of
life issues that make the money matters matter.
(00:22):
Here he is, your fulfillment facilitator, your partner
in prosperity, advising clients on Cape Cod and
across the country.
Here's your host, Jay Christopher Boyd.
Welcome everybody.
Thanks for being with us for another episode
of something more.
I'm here with Jeff Perry and Russ Ball.
We are all of the AMR team at
(00:42):
Wealth Enhancement and glad to have you here.
We're going to talk about a variety of
topics today, specifically we intend to dig into
a topic that's come up with some clients
about having that letter in the drawer, the
where my stuff is.
But before we do that, I thought we
(01:04):
maybe should touch on the notion of something
significant that's evolved in the news and that
is the government shutdown.
This is one of those instances where we
always wonder what will be the market reaction
and how will things be impacted with the
consequence of anxiety in the news of something
(01:27):
significant?
Will it have a broader economic consequences over
time or will it get resolved very quickly?
It does seem to start off where both
sides seem pretty entrenched in their view.
Everyone's trying to position so that they're not
the one getting blamed.
(01:48):
That's very true, Chris.
It's your fault.
It's your fault.
Yeah.
And yet another example of government dysfunction, it
seems.
No doubt.
How we worry about what will be the
budget for the year ahead.
(02:09):
This is where we start our planning.
Essentially, this is our fiscal year that started
in October for the 2026 fiscal budget, I
guess.
It seems like this is always perpetually one
of these things we worry about.
Will there be a government shutdown?
And then the other one is when there's
the debt ceiling.
(02:30):
Luckily, the debt ceiling has been addressed for
the moment.
That was part of OBBA, right?
I believe so.
Yeah.
All right.
Thank goodness.
One thing, at least, that's not an immediate
anxiety's point for the market.
Chris, can I start with a question for
you?
Because you've been watching the market and doing
(02:52):
financial planning for a couple of years now,
20 or so.
Are you surprised by this news or other
news-like things?
The market isn't shaken by this so far
or anything else that in the past-
It really is surprising to me.
(03:13):
Yeah.
I share that.
It sounds like you feel the same way.
We had a little disruption from tariffs earlier
in the year, but markets shook that off
pretty quickly.
That was like a hiccup.
Yeah.
Word of the day.
And then it's just kept on going.
(03:36):
The Middle East still has its stresses.
We've had Ukraine and Russia and China and
everything where it just seems like there's always
something that's an anxiety point.
We've had things happening in the news with
deployment of National Guard and all this.
(03:56):
At other moments in time, just some of
these news items would just create some angst.
Volatility.
Yeah.
And yet, now it just seems to shake
everything off.
On the one hand, that's really pleasing as
someone who manages money for our clients and
(04:19):
how we navigate those long-term planning and
so forth, that it's much easier for clients
to see the long-term when they're not
seeing big disruptions.
It's kind of unexpected.
I almost wonder if traders or retail investors
or whoever you want to define, the different
(04:41):
groups, don't believe anything.
They think everything is subject to change.
It's posturing, it's politics, it's whatever.
And so I'm not really going to worry
about it because it could go away or
it could get worse.
And so I'm just going to stay the
course of however people are evaluating whatever investment
stocks, for example.
(05:01):
Well, that may not be inaccurate because so
far that's kind of been what's happened, right?
You look at the tariffs as an example
of that.
It's a great example, yeah.
Starts off with this dire, drastic, extreme kind
of anxiety.
And basically with China, we were positioning to
(05:22):
embargo trade with China, the way it was
being set up.
But when push comes to shove, it's been
more of a negotiating ploy, it seems like,
than the actual demand.
And as much as people, they envision this
(05:43):
bringing a lot of jobs back to the
United States and perhaps there'll be some benefit
for that.
It does seem like it's been more about
some revenue for the government.
So now with the shutdown that we're in
day two of, I guess the first thing
that, well, it depends if you're a federal
employee or not.
Because if you're a federal employee, President Trump
(06:05):
seems to be using this, whether it's posturing
or whether it's real, as an opportunity to
do some of the labor reductions that he
wasn't otherwise allowed to do.
So that's kind of the top story of
the day, I guess.
And we have other things like, well, we're
not going to get economic data.
(06:26):
Well, and the threat that some of these
jobs may not return, right?
That's right.
He's talking layoffs, not furloughs, which is a
different category that he seems like he can
legally do.
Maybe a leverage thing to your point.
You know, so no financial data, which, you
know, I think for a week or so
(06:47):
maybe it's okay.
But it could be disruptive if, you know,
how's the Fed monitor things?
How's the Fed respond to things?
The Fed's still got jobs, right?
I don't know.
Well, one of them does.
Yes.
So there's been that Supreme Court case too,
not related to the shutdown.
And the other thing that I saw on
(07:08):
the news related to the shutdown was Secretary
Besant.
Oh, you're talking about Cook?
Is that what you're talking about?
Yeah.
And she's still got her job.
Sorry, I didn't pick up on that.
Yeah.
That's all right.
People don't pick up a lot of things
I say.
So we've got the layoffs, we've got the
lack of data.
And the other thing I saw on the
news is that Secretary Besant, Treasury Secretary is,
(07:30):
I don't know, warning's the right word, but
announcing that if this shutdown is longer term,
that it could have a negative impact on
GDP for the quarter.
Yeah.
That's a concern, right?
Disruption on employment and the purchasing that goes
with that.
Permits and all the things the government-
(07:51):
Economic slowdown that that can generate.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's all these, you know, elements that-
Your first thought is like, well, it's government.
What do they produce?
But then you think about, well, they touch
so many things, whether it's regulations or whether
it's hearings or whether it's permits or whether
it's, you name it.
They have a little piece of the process
(08:13):
of approving things and those things get stalled.
And that ultimately leads to more problematic
- People that support government activities.
And so, you know, it does have some
significant economic consequences if it continues long term.
(08:37):
Well, I imagine that's the challenge.
You know, will we be having this conversation
a week or two from now, or will
we be having this conversation a month from
now?
You know, if it goes a month, you're
starting to see some of that kind of
worry.
If it's a week or two, usually how
(09:00):
it happens is things kind of just back
to business as usual and the people whose
jobs were affected get back pay and-
Right.
Yep.
It ends up to be a vacation, actually,
a paid vacation for the workers who are
- Stressful vacation.
Yeah.
Stressful vacation.
(09:22):
And then a lot of- Maybe more
so this time with the potential for layoffs
coming.
But yeah, I think there's a lot of
posturing, like we said, and it's hard to
know what's just messaging.
Just try to get the other side to
give in on what's actually real.
(09:43):
But it does seem from some of the
interviews I've heard that Democrats feel that this
is their one point of leverage and it
feels like their heels are pretty well dug
in, but anything can happen.
And it's unfortunate that there's political dynamics of
everyone trying to appeal to their base to
(10:04):
be seen in a certain way.
It doesn't seem like it's purely about the
merits of whatever the spending really is focused
on.
It never is, right?
Yeah.
The emails are out on both sides fundraising
why they need to get more donations to
stop or start or whatever the cause is.
(10:25):
Well, let's turn our attention to what we
really wanted to talk about today.
And Russ, I think you were in this
meeting.
We had a conversation recently with a client
and they said something about, oh yeah, I
have a folder full of stuff that's really
old.
I have to revisit that.
(10:46):
This notion of in the desk drawer where
my assets are or who to call.
I thought that would be just a topic
that would be worth spending a few minutes
on, Jeff, because everyone should have this.
It's not something we have as a focal
point of our planning.
(11:07):
And yet it's a really important part of
one's plan, more for the people you leave
behind in the event of an illness, a
prolonged illness, or in the event of a
passing, this question of who do I call?
(11:27):
Where's our stuff?
What do I do?
Maybe Jeff, let's start with what have you
done?
Because I know you mentioned you've done some
of this stuff for your family.
Yep, absolutely.
And just a side note, because when you
mentioned this topic to me today, the first
thing I thought of was the webinar we
just did with the digital wrangler.
(11:50):
Yeah, Kate Hufnagel.
And that was well received.
And by the way, if you want to
check that out, you can find it on
YouTube or go to our webpage.
You can find that either by going to
somethingmorewithchrisboyd.com or wealthenhancement.com slash AMR. Even
(12:13):
more convenient, I'll throw a link to the
YouTube video in the show notes.
So if you're listening and you want to
just go from us, when we're done, please
wait.
Yeah, yeah.
But that's a great point in terms of
there's a variety of things that are digital
based that are, how do I get access
(12:36):
to?
Where do I find those things?
Will you retain the rights to?
And a little bit of forethought can really
make a difference there.
Right.
I mean, just think 20 years ago, if
you had a parent pass or your spouse
became ill or you weren't the one handling
the money and you needed to figure it
out, right?
Where's my stuff?
What do I do?
You waited by the mailbox pretty much.
(13:00):
Because over the next month or quarter, everything's
coming in the mail to you.
Assets, liabilities, whatever.
If there was an insurance policy at some
point, there'd be a bill or a statement,
you know, things like that.
But not always is that the case today.
I'd say it's a minority of cases.
(13:20):
I know from you asking me what we
do, I don't think we get anything official
in the mail anymore other than advertisements and
maybe Christmas cards.
So yes, I have drawn a letter of
instructions upon my passing.
Because I'm the one who handles the bills
(13:42):
and the investments.
Lisa has a lot of things that she
does, but that's not one of them she's
interested in.
She knows about everything, obviously.
But one of the basic things is, here
are our bills.
Here's how they're paid.
Here's what to expect.
And then here are the related passwords to
these accounts, right?
(14:03):
And bookmarked.
It takes a little bit of time to
pull that together and for you to do
that right up.
Sure.
Absolutely.
That is incredibly valuable.
It's an exercise that isn't only, you know,
in case of my early passing, but it's
also a good exercise for you to do
as a person, like the one who's handling
(14:25):
it to say, these are my bills, when
are they due?
And also in that process, I bookmarked all
of the websites related to those.
And I did it for Lisa, but I
also did it for myself because, you know,
we learn from people when we're talking about
scams and, you know, how to prevent things
(14:45):
that if you deal with Bank of America,
you just don't want to Google Bank of
America because who knows what's at the top.
So if you save your bookmarks, if you
bookmark your legit sites, you just use those
because, you know, they're going to be safe
and secure.
And, you know, you need to have all
your documents, your estate planning documents, fresh, meaning
(15:08):
reviewed and that they're current and that the
people that you appointed to be healthcare proxy,
power of attorney, successor trustee, are still available
to do those things.
And if you move, you can update these
things, but let them know where they are.
And in my case, we've gone further where
(15:31):
I have told her, call Chris Boyd.
Like, yeah, there you go.
You know, like, but no, here's to someone
who can step.
This is a great place to start.
I think when it comes to thinking about
clients and who they should, they should have
a little laundry list of where they've got
the name, address, phone number, email, maybe of
(15:54):
certain kinds of people.
So who is that estate planning attorney that
they should call when it comes time to
deal with either kind of circumstance and incapacity
or passing?
Who's your financial planner, investment advisor?
Who's your tax preparer, accountant, CPA, whatever you,
you know, use in this process.
(16:17):
Who handles your life insurance?
Is there a single agent?
Is it multiple companies you deal with directly?
How do you contact them, right?
Maybe policy numbers to go with those kinds
of account numbers to go with those kinds
of things.
We'll come back to that.
Do we have a lender?
Is there a mortgage?
(16:37):
Is there car loans or whatever?
You know, who do we owe money to?
Who do we have a banking relationship with?
We, you know, we may have one bank,
maybe we have five banks.
Do I know where all the banking money
is, right?
Or whatever it might be.
And if it's in the case of investments,
(16:58):
maybe it's not one person, maybe it's multiple
people, right?
Or firms, if you deal with them directly.
You know, I think there's other things too,
Jeff, like what about the intangible stuff of
like, who do I call if I need
to repair something?
Yeah.
Who's the handyman helper or whatever that I
(17:20):
would use?
Well, it used to be, you know, I'd
call Jeff or, you know, like, hey Jeff,
this door is squeaking.
Who do I call now?
Right?
You know, that kind of thing.
Sorry, I moved.
Yeah.
No, you know what I mean?
No, but it's about keeping that list fresh
as well, like looking at it.
Yeah.
You need to think of new possibilities in
(17:42):
the case you move.
Who's a plumber?
Who's a yard care?
I don't know.
You get pest control, whatever it might be,
right?
There's a laundry list of, you know, maybe
some people have an alarm service or automotive
care for a lot of times trustworthy auto
care.
(18:03):
Those are a few of the things that
come to my mind, you know, just on
the, who do I call list?
Um, but, um, there's probably a variety of
other things that I haven't thought of, but,
um, I think you could also maybe step
back and say, who has a key to
my house?
(18:23):
Who has access to the home?
Are there neighbors, friends that have access?
Are there family members?
Are there, is that, do we still want
that?
You know, it could be a different, oh,
I didn't think of it too.
Like if you had a pet who's handling
the, oh, we have a pet sitter and
geez, who is that?
(18:44):
If, when it comes to an estate plan,
you know, have you completed it with an
updated it within the last three years?
Um, three years are kind of arbitrary, but
you know, is it, is it recent is
kind of my point, is it current?
I'd even add something to that.
I totally agree with you, but like at
least once a year, the couple in this
case, or the individual, if you're, if you're
(19:05):
living by yourself, but go over that document
yourself.
Like just look at it.
I'm not saying you need to change it
every year, but like, I think it's super
common that life changes.
Like maybe you have a relative who passed
and they're not in the estate plan.
So does that estate plan still work without
that person being in it?
Or who's the successor trustee or successor executor?
(19:29):
And do those people know what you want?
Cause that's a real missing, missing piece of
this, you know, healthcare issues, right?
Yeah.
You're at the lawyer's office and you say,
who's, you know, your brother or someone else
is saying, who do you think you'd like
as your healthcare proxy?
And you list somebody actually need to talk
to those people.
(19:50):
And if something, no, do they know what
your wishes are?
Keep me alive at all costs.
Cause when you're dead, you're dead.
Or is it, well, quality of life, I
want to, you know if I'm, you know,
these kinds of nuances, I've heard people make
good cases for different thoughts on this, you
(20:10):
know, one way versus the other.
And I think, you know, you need to
have that clarity of what is their intention.
And it may not be the same person,
you know, for your trustee and your healthcare
proxy power attorney, cause different people in your,
in your family, in your life have different
skill sets.
But the greater point is I'm saying, look
at those documents and say, you know, let's
(20:32):
say you had a change in your health
in the last year that might change some
of this discussion with your healthcare proxy.
Just make sure your documents are updated for
what you need them.
And then go to the attorney every three
or so years and make sure it's updated
legally.
Yeah.
Things change every year.
And so if you do this every year,
(20:52):
if you look at the list of what
are my bills, what are my assets, what
are my liabilities, all the things that you
listed and look at your healthcare with your,
with your spouse, if you have a spouse
do this at least once a year, it's
a process that will won't take long, but
you can make sure it's updated and everybody
understands.
I know Keith is doing a maintenance plan
more and more of these days so that
(21:14):
people can update it as frequently as is
needed, you know, not just every so often.
Russ, you look like you had something to
add.
Yeah.
I was going to say like, it's kind
of to that point of, you know, reviewing
it, uh, reviewing your estate plan together with
your spouse or other family member, whoever it
may be.
I think it's really important to not just
write all this stuff out like you're talking
(21:35):
about Jeff, but have an active engaged conversation
with the person who might not be as
involved, whether it be the repairs in the
house or the finances.
Um, don't just leave it until you're gone.
Like have that conversation ongoing where you're like,
it doesn't have to be every day, but
to just kind of get, you know, everyone
on the same page, what we're, what we're
talking about here so that when they're looking
(21:55):
at the form, God forbid something would happen.
It's not like, Oh wait, I wonder what
this has to do with.
It made sense to the person writing it,
but not so much as the person reading
it.
Uh, that's another thing.
And this applies the list we were talking
about before about bills or important people to
contact.
This is, I think that list is also
(22:15):
appropriate for your executor and your successor trustee.
I mean, not just your spouse cause it,
God forbid, but something could happen to both
of you in this scenario at the same
time.
And you have these backup individuals in your
documents, but if they know nothing about your
financial world and you've asked them to be
a successor trustee or, you know, alternate executor,
(22:38):
that's a big burden on them.
Just starting with, okay, I have this job
to do.
I know nothing about them.
So at least provide them the list to
call this lawyer, this, this financial advisor, this
CPA, and you know, just those three insurance
agent, maybe those individuals will be able to
(22:59):
help your successor, trustee, executor, at least start
the process of fulfilling the duties that you've
asked them to do.
Yeah.
Good points.
Um, this all came up cause I, I
saw a colleague, um, of mine, uh, was
promoting for his clientele, um, a binder with
(23:22):
a lot of these kinds of things.
I was like, that's a great idea.
I really want to make sure we talk
about some of these things and perhaps, uh,
piggyback on that kind of a good idea.
You guys have made some great points.
One of the things that, um, we had
in the office this week was someone who
said they did their prepaid funeral.
(23:42):
And, um, that might be something to make
note of some of those details.
If, um, your kids don't know that there
has been plans made, um, you know, that
could be a lost, uh, opportunity, you know,
to definitely see that happening.
You passed away.
You didn't tell anybody.
(24:02):
I mean, the reading of the estate plan
or even a letter, it's too late.
They've already, they've already sent you married.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Literally.
Right.
Yeah, exactly.
And you find that somebody paid $15,000
for this service at the funeral home next
door.
Right.
Yeah.
And in that instance, you know, we were
(24:23):
talking about like, there was a whole process.
They, they went to the funeral home.
They, they picked out the casket and did
all the particulars.
And if they pass and no one knew,
then you might not even go to the
right place or exactly what they had in
mind or have the service that they wanted.
(24:43):
Right.
Yeah.
And that's another thing.
I know my mom is always like taking
notes from, uh, Oh, that was a really
nice song for.
Welcome to something more with Chris Boyd.
Chris Boyd is a certified financial planner, practitioner
and senior vice president and financial advisor at
Wealth Enhancement Group, one of the nation's largest
registered investment advisors.
We call it something more because we'd like
to talk not only about those important dollar
and cents issues, but also the quality of
life issues that make the money matters matter.
(00:22):
Here he is, your fulfillment facilitator, your partner
in prosperity, advising clients on Cape Cod and
across the country.
Here's your host, Jay Christopher Boyd.
Welcome everybody.
Thanks for being with us for another episode
of something more.
I'm here with Jeff Perry and Russ Ball.
We are all of the AMR team at
(00:42):
Wealth Enhancement and glad to have you here.
We're going to talk about a variety of
topics today, specifically we intend to dig into
a topic that's come up with some clients
about having that letter in the drawer, the
where my stuff is.
But before we do that, I thought we
(01:04):
maybe should touch on the notion of something
significant that's evolved in the news and that
is the government shutdown.
This is one of those instances where we
always wonder what will be the market reaction
and how will things be impacted with the
consequence of anxiety in the news of something
(01:27):
significant?
Will it have a broader economic consequences over
time or will it get resolved very quickly?
It does seem to start off where both
sides seem pretty entrenched in their view.
Everyone's trying to position so that they're not
the one getting blamed.
(01:48):
That's very true, Chris.
It's your fault.
It's your fault.
Yeah.
And yet another example of government dysfunction, it
seems.
No doubt.
How we worry about what will be the
budget for the year ahead.
(02:09):
This is where we start our planning.
Essentially, this is our fiscal year that started
in October for the 2026 fiscal budget, I
guess.
It seems like this is always perpetually one
of these things we worry about.
Will there be a government shutdown?
And then the other one is when there's
the debt ceiling.
(02:30):
Luckily, the debt ceiling has been addressed for
the moment.
That was part of OBBA, right?
I believe so.
Yeah.
All right.
Thank goodness.
One thing, at least, that's not an immediate
anxiety's point for the market.
Chris, can I start with a question for
you?
Because you've been watching the market and doing
(02:52):
financial planning for a couple of years now,
20 or so.
Are you surprised by this news or other
news-like things?
The market isn't shaken by this so far
or anything else that in the past-
It really is surprising to me.
(03:13):
Yeah.
I share that.
It sounds like you feel the same way.
We had a little disruption from tariffs earlier
in the year, but markets shook that off
pretty quickly.
That was like a hiccup.
Yeah.
Word of the day.
And then it's just kept on going.
(03:36):
The Middle East still has its stresses.
We've had Ukraine and Russia and China and
everything where it just seems like there's always
something that's an anxiety point.
We've had things happening in the news with
deployment of National Guard and all this.
(03:56):
At other moments in time, just some of
these news items would just create some angst.
Volatility.
Yeah.
And yet, now it just seems to shake
everything off.
On the one hand, that's really pleasing as
someone who manages money for our clients and
(04:19):
how we navigate those long-term planning and
so forth, that it's much easier for clients
to see the long-term when they're not
seeing big disruptions.
It's kind of unexpected.
I almost wonder if traders or retail investors
or whoever you want to define, the different
(04:41):
groups, don't believe anything.
They think everything is subject to change.
It's posturing, it's politics, it's whatever.
And so I'm not really going to worry
about it because it could go away or
it could get worse.
And so I'm just going to stay the
course of however people are evaluating whatever investment
stocks, for example.
(05:01):
Well, that may not be inaccurate because so
far that's kind of been what's happened, right?
You look at the tariffs as an example
of that.
It's a great example, yeah.
Starts off with this dire, drastic, extreme kind
of anxiety.
And basically with China, we were positioning to
(05:22):
embargo trade with China, the way it was
being set up.
But when push comes to shove, it's been
more of a negotiating ploy, it seems like,
than the actual demand.
And as much as people, they envision this
(05:43):
bringing a lot of jobs back to the
United States and perhaps there'll be some benefit
for that.
It does seem like it's been more about
some revenue for the government.
So now with the shutdown that we're in
day two of, I guess the first thing
that, well, it depends if you're a federal
employee or not.
Because if you're a federal employee, President Trump
(06:05):
seems to be using this, whether it's posturing
or whether it's real, as an opportunity to
do some of the labor reductions that he
wasn't otherwise allowed to do.
So that's kind of the top story of
the day, I guess.
And we have other things like, well, we're
not going to get economic data.
(06:26):
Well, and the threat that some of these
jobs may not return, right?
That's right.
He's talking layoffs, not furloughs, which is a
different category that he seems like he can
legally do.
Maybe a leverage thing to your point.
You know, so no financial data, which, you
know, I think for a week or so
(06:47):
maybe it's okay.
But it could be disruptive if, you know,
how's the Fed monitor things?
How's the Fed respond to things?
The Fed's still got jobs, right?
I don't know.
Well, one of them does.
Yes.
So there's been that Supreme Court case too,
not related to the shutdown.
And the other thing that I saw on
(07:08):
the news related to the shutdown was Secretary
Besant.
Oh, you're talking about Cook?
Is that what you're talking about?
Yeah.
And she's still got her job.
Sorry, I didn't pick up on that.
Yeah.
That's all right.
People don't pick up a lot of things
I say.
So we've got the layoffs, we've got the
lack of data.
And the other thing I saw on the
news is that Secretary Besant, Treasury Secretary is,
(07:30):
I don't know, warning's the right word, but
announcing that if this shutdown is longer term,
that it could have a negative impact on
GDP for the quarter.
Yeah.
That's a concern, right?
Disruption on employment and the purchasing that goes
with that.
Permits and all the things the government-
(07:51):
Economic slowdown that that can generate.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's all these, you know, elements that-
Your first thought is like, well, it's government.
What do they produce?
But then you think about, well, they touch
so many things, whether it's regulations or whether
it's hearings or whether it's permits or whether
it's, you name it.
They have a little piece of the process
(08:13):
of approving things and those things get stalled.
And that ultimately leads to more problematic
- People that support government activities.
And so, you know, it does have some
significant economic consequences if it continues long term.
(08:37):
Well, I imagine that's the challenge.
You know, will we be having this conversation
a week or two from now, or will
we be having this conversation a month from
now?
You know, if it goes a month, you're
starting to see some of that kind of
worry.
If it's a week or two, usually how
(09:00):
it happens is things kind of just back
to business as usual and the people whose
jobs were affected get back pay and-
Right.
Yep.
It ends up to be a vacation, actually,
a paid vacation for the workers who are
- Stressful vacation.
Yeah.
Stressful vacation.
(09:22):
And then a lot of- Maybe more
so this time with the potential for layoffs
coming.
But yeah, I think there's a lot of
posturing, like we said, and it's hard to
know what's just messaging.
Just try to get the other side to
give in on what's actually real.
(09:43):
But it does seem from some of the
interviews I've heard that Democrats feel that this
is their one point of leverage and it
feels like their heels are pretty well dug
in, but anything can happen.
And it's unfortunate that there's political dynamics of
everyone trying to appeal to their base to
(10:04):
be seen in a certain way.
It doesn't seem like it's purely about the
merits of whatever the spending really is focused
on.
It never is, right?
Yeah.
The emails are out on both sides fundraising
why they need to get more donations to
stop or start or whatever the cause is.
(10:25):
Well, let's turn our attention to what we
really wanted to talk about today.
And Russ, I think you were in this
meeting.
We had a conversation recently with a client
and they said something about, oh yeah, I
have a folder full of stuff that's really
old.
I have to revisit that.
(10:46):
This notion of in the desk drawer where
my assets are or who to call.
I thought that would be just a topic
that would be worth spending a few minutes
on, Jeff, because everyone should have this.
It's not something we have as a focal
point of our planning.
(11:07):
And yet it's a really important part of
one's plan, more for the people you leave
behind in the event of an illness, a
prolonged illness, or in the event of a
passing, this question of who do I call?
(11:27):
Where's our stuff?
What do I do?
Maybe Jeff, let's start with what have you
done?
Because I know you mentioned you've done some
of this stuff for your family.
Yep, absolutely.
And just a side note, because when you
mentioned this topic to me today, the first
thing I thought of was the webinar we
just did with the digital wrangler.
(11:50):
Yeah, Kate Hufnagel.
And that was well received.
And by the way, if you want to
check that out, you can find it on
YouTube or go to our webpage.
You can find that either by going to
somethingmorewithchrisboyd.com or wealthenhancement.com slash AMR. Even
(12:13):
more convenient, I'll throw a link to the
YouTube video in the show notes.
So if you're listening and you want to
just go from us, when we're done, please
wait.
Yeah, yeah.
But that's a great point in terms of
there's a variety of things that are digital
based that are, how do I get access
(12:36):
to?
Where do I find those things?
Will you retain the rights to?
And a little bit of forethought can really
make a difference there.
Right.
I mean, just think 20 years ago, if
you had a parent pass or your spouse
became ill or you weren't the one handling
the money and you needed to figure it
out, right?
Where's my stuff?
What do I do?
You waited by the mailbox pretty much.
(13:00):
Because over the next month or quarter, everything's
coming in the mail to you.
Assets, liabilities, whatever.
If there was an insurance policy at some
point, there'd be a bill or a statement,
you know, things like that.
But not always is that the case today.
I'd say it's a minority of cases.
(13:20):
I know from you asking me what we
do, I don't think we get anything official
in the mail anymore other than advertisements and
maybe Christmas cards.
So yes, I have drawn a letter of
instructions upon my passing.
Because I'm the one who handles the bills
(13:42):
and the investments.
Lisa has a lot of things that she
does, but that's not one of them she's
interested in.
She knows about everything, obviously.
But one of the basic things is, here
are our bills.
Here's how they're paid.
Here's what to expect.
And then here are the related passwords to
these accounts, right?
(14:03):
And bookmarked.
It takes a little bit of time to
pull that together and for you to do
that right up.
Sure.
Absolutely.
That is incredibly valuable.
It's an exercise that isn't only, you know,
in case of my early passing, but it's
also a good exercise for you to do
as a person, like the one who's handling
(14:25):
it to say, these are my bills, when
are they due?
And also in that process, I bookmarked all
of the websites related to those.
And I did it for Lisa, but I
also did it for myself because, you know,
we learn from people when we're talking about
scams and, you know, how to prevent things
(14:45):
that if you deal with Bank of America,
you just don't want to Google Bank of
America because who knows what's at the top.
So if you save your bookmarks, if you
bookmark your legit sites, you just use those
because, you know, they're going to be safe
and secure.
And, you know, you need to have all
your documents, your estate planning documents, fresh, meaning
(15:08):
reviewed and that they're current and that the
people that you appointed to be healthcare proxy,
power of attorney, successor trustee, are still available
to do those things.
And if you move, you can update these
things, but let them know where they are.
And in my case, we've gone further where
(15:31):
I have told her, call Chris Boyd.
Like, yeah, there you go.
You know, like, but no, here's to someone
who can step.
This is a great place to start.
I think when it comes to thinking about
clients and who they should, they should have
a little laundry list of where they've got
the name, address, phone number, email, maybe of
(15:54):
certain kinds of people.
So who is that estate planning attorney that
they should call when it comes time to
deal with either kind of circumstance and incapacity
or passing?
Who's your financial planner, investment advisor?
Who's your tax preparer, accountant, CPA, whatever you,
you know, use in this process.
(16:17):
Who handles your life insurance?
Is there a single agent?
Is it multiple companies you deal with directly?
How do you contact them, right?
Maybe policy numbers to go with those kinds
of account numbers to go with those kinds
of things.
We'll come back to that.
Do we have a lender?
Is there a mortgage?
(16:37):
Is there car loans or whatever?
You know, who do we owe money to?
Who do we have a banking relationship with?
We, you know, we may have one bank,
maybe we have five banks.
Do I know where all the banking money
is, right?
Or whatever it might be.
And if it's in the case of investments,
(16:58):
maybe it's not one person, maybe it's multiple
people, right?
Or firms, if you deal with them directly.
You know, I think there's other things too,
Jeff, like what about the intangible stuff of
like, who do I call if I need
to repair something?
Yeah.
Who's the handyman helper or whatever that I
(17:20):
would use?
Well, it used to be, you know, I'd
call Jeff or, you know, like, hey Jeff,
this door is squeaking.
Who do I call now?
Right?
You know, that kind of thing.
Sorry, I moved.
Yeah.
No, you know what I mean?
No, but it's about keeping that list fresh
as well, like looking at it.
Yeah.
You need to think of new possibilities in
(17:42):
the case you move.
Who's a plumber?
Who's a yard care?
I don't know.
You get pest control, whatever it might be,
right?
There's a laundry list of, you know, maybe
some people have an alarm service or automotive
care for a lot of times trustworthy auto
care.
(18:03):
Those are a few of the things that
come to my mind, you know, just on
the, who do I call list?
Um, but, um, there's probably a variety of
other things that I haven't thought of, but,
um, I think you could also maybe step
back and say, who has a key to
my house?
(18:23):
Who has access to the home?
Are there neighbors, friends that have access?
Are there family members?
Are there, is that, do we still want
that?
You know, it could be a different, oh,
I didn't think of it too.
Like if you had a pet who's handling
the, oh, we have a pet sitter and
geez, who is that?
(18:44):
If, when it comes to an estate plan,
you know, have you completed it with an
updated it within the last three years?
Um, three years are kind of arbitrary, but
you know, is it, is it recent is
kind of my point, is it current?
I'd even add something to that.
I totally agree with you, but like at
least once a year, the couple in this
case, or the individual, if you're, if you're
(19:05):
living by yourself, but go over that document
yourself.
Like just look at it.
I'm not saying you need to change it
every year, but like, I think it's super
common that life changes.
Like maybe you have a relative who passed
and they're not in the estate plan.
So does that estate plan still work without
that person being in it?
Or who's the successor trustee or successor executor?
(19:29):
And do those people know what you want?
Cause that's a real missing, missing piece of
this, you know, healthcare issues, right?
Yeah.
You're at the lawyer's office and you say,
who's, you know, your brother or someone else
is saying, who do you think you'd like
as your healthcare proxy?
And you list somebody actually need to talk
to those people.
(19:50):
And if something, no, do they know what
your wishes are?
Keep me alive at all costs.
Cause when you're dead, you're dead.
Or is it, well, quality of life, I
want to, you know if I'm, you know,
these kinds of nuances, I've heard people make
good cases for different thoughts on this, you
(20:10):
know, one way versus the other.
And I think, you know, you need to
have that clarity of what is their intention.
And it may not be the same person,
you know, for your trustee and your healthcare
proxy power attorney, cause different people in your,
in your family, in your life have different
skill sets.
But the greater point is I'm saying, look
at those documents and say, you know, let's
(20:32):
say you had a change in your health
in the last year that might change some
of this discussion with your healthcare proxy.
Just make sure your documents are updated for
what you need them.
And then go to the attorney every three
or so years and make sure it's updated
legally.
Yeah.
Things change every year.
And so if you do this every year,
(20:52):
if you look at the list of what
are my bills, what are my assets, what
are my liabilities, all the things that you
listed and look at your healthcare with your,
with your spouse, if you have a spouse
do this at least once a year, it's
a process that will won't take long, but
you can make sure it's updated and everybody
understands.
I know Keith is doing a maintenance plan
more and more of these days so that
(21:14):
people can update it as frequently as is
needed, you know, not just every so often.
Russ, you look like you had something to
add.
Yeah.
I was going to say like, it's kind
of to that point of, you know, reviewing
it, uh, reviewing your estate plan together with
your spouse or other family member, whoever it
may be.
I think it's really important to not just
write all this stuff out like you're talking
(21:35):
about Jeff, but have an active engaged conversation
with the person who might not be as
involved, whether it be the repairs in the
house or the finances.
Um, don't just leave it until you're gone.
Like have that conversation ongoing where you're like,
it doesn't have to be every day, but
to just kind of get, you know, everyone
on the same page, what we're, what we're
talking about here so that when they're looking
(21:55):
at the form, God forbid something would happen.
It's not like, Oh wait, I wonder what
this has to do with.
It made sense to the person writing it,
but not so much as the person reading
it.
Uh, that's another thing.
And this applies the list we were talking
about before about bills or important people to
contact.
This is, I think that list is also
(22:15):
appropriate for your executor and your successor trustee.
I mean, not just your spouse cause it,
God forbid, but something could happen to both
of you in this scenario at the same
time.
And you have these backup individuals in your
documents, but if they know nothing about your
financial world and you've asked them to be
a successor trustee or, you know, alternate executor,
(22:38):
that's a big burden on them.
Just starting with, okay, I have this job
to do.
I know nothing about them.
So at least provide them the list to
call this lawyer, this, this financial advisor, this
CPA, and you know, just those three insurance
agent, maybe those individuals will be able to
(22:59):
help your successor, trustee, executor, at least start
the process of fulfilling the duties that you've
asked them to do.
Yeah.
Good points.
Um, this all came up cause I, I
saw a colleague, um, of mine, uh, was
promoting for his clientele, um, a binder with
(23:22):
a lot of these kinds of things.
I was like, that's a great idea.
I really want to make sure we talk
about some of these things and perhaps, uh,
piggyback on that kind of a good idea.
You guys have made some great points.
One of the things that, um, we had
in the office this week was someone who
said they did their prepaid funeral.
(23:42):
And, um, that might be something to make
note of some of those details.
If, um, your kids don't know that there
has been plans made, um, you know, that
could be a lost, uh, opportunity, you know,
to definitely see that happening.
You passed away.
You didn't tell anybody.
(24:02):
I mean, the reading of the estate plan
or even a letter, it's too late.
They've already, they've already sent you married.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Literally.
Right.
Yeah, exactly.
And you find that somebody paid $15,000
for this service at the funeral home next
door.
Right.
Yeah.
And in that instance, you know, we were
(24:23):
talking about like, there was a whole process.
They, they went to the funeral home.
They, they picked out the casket and did
all the particulars.
And if they pass and no one knew,
then you might not even go to the
right place or exactly what they had in
mind or have the service that they wanted.
(24:43):
Right.
Yeah.
And that's another thing.
I know my mom is always like taking
notes from, uh, Oh, that was a really
nice song for.
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