A Will Is Not Enough

And, you know, you tell the story of your first will, your Jack Russell, Dashund, Jerry and your new Audi and a few cash bequests and the fact that nobody asked for your personal balance sheet.

What did that experience teach you later once you became a CFPB?

You know, looking back, as I said, I was quite perturbed that they didn't actually put Jerry in my will.

He's still going, by the way.

He's 16 years old.

But the cash request relating to him, it actually should have been in the will.

And I was quite perturbed that I wasn't ever asked for, you know, what actually do you have to fund these cash requests

for?

You know, it was very wool specific.

I just started my new job.

So I was contributing to a retirement fund, but beneficiary nominations on that retirement fund didn't even come up

in the conversation.

Wow.

And I mean, that's one of the first things you actually should be thinking about is who are those people who are left behind? What am I leaving to them? What do I not want to leave to them? I mean, it seems rather obvious, though, if you think about what kind of do I want a living annuity or a life annuity, because those products also have different outcomes depending on what your estate plan looks like.

So it really is quite holistic.

The one speaks to the other.

Very much so.

We always say to clients, you know, we've got a blank canvas.

Let's do your estate plan.

Let's write your will and let's together determine your beneficiary nominations.

But it doesn't stop there.

As life happens, we look at it every year and it goes in tandem, you know, beneficiary nominations and the will to talk to one another.

Very different implications, Michael.

If you'd like me to unpack those, I can.

Yeah, we will.