“AN EXPERIENCE THAT HAS MAINTAINED A LIFELONG IMPACT.”

My first major-life event experience happened in the summer of 1992. My father, the breadwinner, died intestate (without a Will or estate plan), leaving behind a near bankrupt working farm, several leveraged properties, a wife, three children (including me) and two adult children from a previous marriage. And so began the long-drawn-out process of sorting out his estate: freezing assets, creditors submitting claims for payments, dealing with (struggling with / managing) family disputes over who controlled the very assets required to support my mother and her children.

It was a stressful, emotionally, and financially draining experience that, in hindsight, included many valuable lessons. Time to grieve is essential, not only to put at peace such a damaging event, but also to take on the challenges of legal, financial, and family disputes. My father’s lack of estate planning had unintended consequences with serious emotional impact on his family.

Living through such a tragic event, I witnessed my family struggle with immediate and dramatic shifts to the decline of caregiving that could be provided to dependents, changes in the quality of health (mental, emotional, and physical), lifestyle, and life in retirement. I also saw a dramatic shift in long-term ideals with respect to financing children’s education, meeting basic family lifestyle needs, and a dramatic learning curve as family members stepped in to assume financial decision-making responsibilities.

An experience that has maintained a lifelong impact; however, the impact was that of a borne purpose to advise and guide others on the value of total wealth planning discussions.