Attorneys would think that the insurance agents would do anything to sell another product, while the CPA’s might think that the “outlandish” fees that the lawyers charge for preparing trust documents could be better spent on a sinking fund to retire debt acquired in the capital expansion program. All the while, the client has no idea of what is going on or why all these people are giving him what seems to be different advice.
We all need to remember that the calling of our respective professions is to approach our clients with the same sort of objectivity and advice that we would give to members of our own family or better yet, to ourselves under similar circumstances.
In particular, when dealing with owners of closely held corporations, partnerships and proprietors, we often need to educate them in the value of succession planning in maintaining continuity and longevity of the business as well as making provision for the care of the survivors.
Aspects of the old saying, “Everyone wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die” applies here. Most business owners want their company to continue on into the future in the event “something happens” to them, but the vast majority of them are unable to articulate what will happen to the business after they die. They have no successor owner in mind, they have not mentored anyone to be prepared to run the business and the needed documents to make the transition may not have been updated in years if they exist at all.
The most well educated, professional and astute clients may not have even a basic succession plan in place, much less one that would be the most efficient way to deal with the transition.
All of us have the ability to open the eyes of business owners to the reality that someday by retirement, death or disability they are going to have to exit their business. It may be by chance or by choice, but they need to realize that the systems, plans and documents will already need to be in place when that day comes.
And this is where the multi-disciplinary approach is best used. The issues of using a trusteed cross-purchase plan instead of a entity plan need to be discussed with the legal team of the owner. But the existing plan with the life insurance policies should also be reviewed during the process to make certain that the issues of ownership, beneficiary designation and purpose are what the owners want as well as whether they are going to perform in the end how they think they were set up to perform.
Like the proverbial three legged stool, each profession needs to realize that in order to provide the best service to our clients, there will be times that the perspective of the other disciplines will be not only desirable, but necessary and efficient. And each professional must realize the limitations that each professional has in regards to the need for a consultative approach to others.
Just as no person is an island, no true professional is one either.
Adrian Powell has been a lifelong resident of Central Ohio. He is the founder and owner of Advanced Planning, Pensions & Financial Advice, LLC and specializes in financial planning for the middle class, business succession planning for small businesses, pensions and executive benefits for closely-held corporations. He also provides tax preparation services for individuals, families and small businesses
Adrian has been a columnist for the Columbus Dispatch, Your News Columbus.Com, The Call & Post, Purpose Magazine and Urban Trendsetters. He is a member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. He is past Chairman of the Public Relations Committee for the Society and has his Fraternal Insurance Counsellor (FIC) designation. His community work includes volunteering for charitable organizations, speaking on Personal Finance, Retirement Planning and preaching in various churches. He is an ordained Minister with the Church of God (Anderson, IN).
He attended Father Wehrle High School and Ohio Dominican and Malone Universities, where he was an All-American in track.
His e-mail address is adrian4yourmoney@gmail.com. Web addresses are http://www.advancedplanningfinancialadvice.com and http://www.adrian4yourmoney.com.
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