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Time & Money's Master Planner Is Helping More People Get Financially Organized...Before It's Too Late
October 19, 2009
BOUNTIFUl, UTAH — For most people, it’s never easy to think about their own death. "Smart people, however, who want to create wealth put aside those uncomfortable feelings and imagine what life would be like for their family financially if they suddenly died tonight," says Alan Williams, co-author of the Money Mastery® personal financial management program. "What if you were killed in a car accident, let’s suppose, on your way home from the office? You’re dead...now what? Who would own your car? What name is on the title? In whose name is the house? What would happen to your children? Who’s names are on your bank accounts? Could your spouse get to the money in them? Would your spouse have any way to support the family? What about your burial...will that be a hardship for your family? Would your family know how you want your assets distributed? What about assets that may be worth something? Have you got a Will? Do you need a trust?" asks Williams.
According to Williams and his Money Mastery co-author, Peter Jeppson, although these are tough questions they're worth asking now. That’s how the rich get rich and stay that way — they contemplate how their life, and death, will affect others. They think about the future and plan ways to protect valuable assets. They differ from the average consumer who, as Gloria Steinem put it, “plans for Saturday night, [while] rich people plan for four generations!”
Even though consumers know they need to address these important financial planning issues, most people put it off. Statistics show that only two in every seven families have a will made out in writing, and of those, only 20 percent are wills that have been updated in the last five years.
"Consumers need to ask themselves 'What if both me and my spouse die unexpectedly and leave children behind?'" notes Jeppson. "If you have not made provisions to care for them, any money available in your estate could be drastically reduced by court costs as legal proceedings ensue about who will be guardian for your children. And what if you aren’t killed but incapacitated? Without a power of attorney and living will, you and your family may be locked in legal limbo for years."
In their coaching seminars and one-on-one mentoring sessions, Williams and Jeppson encourage people to get financially organized by "killing" themselves on paper. "Work through each financial issue from your burial, to life insurance payouts, to the way your assets are titled, and see what kind of problems your family might encounter for which you have not prepared," says Jeppson.
Finding this exercise hard for most people to do without the proper tools, Williams and Jeppson created the Master Planner comprehensive organizer that helps people plan how they will spend, save, pay down debt, pay taxes, and run a small business or real estate venture. It also includes checklists for applying each of the 10 Money Mastery Principles, and helps users easily order and store in one place, all essential estate planning and distribution information including copies of wills, trusts, and other important documents. With all information organized in one place, an estate planning attorney can quickly and efficiently review information, thus saving valuable attorney’s fees.
For More Information
Information about the Master Planner is available online at www.moneymastery.com or by calling (888) 292-1099. Time & Money, LLC, 1403 S. 600 W., Suite A, Bountiful, Utah 84010.
