Two-Thirds of Railroaders Don't Have an Estate Plan

Transcript:

Only one third of railroaders have completed their estate plan. Find out what that entails.

Welcome everyone, to another edition of the High Ball Advisors Railroad Retirement Whiteboard. My name's John McNamara of High Ball Advisors. Today we're going to talk about a really important part of my practice, at least, is the estate planning part, kind of that fundamental prerequisite, really. All my clients, very important to have that. Really, I stress this stuff very, very important. But it turns out I found out two thirds of railroaders don't have an estate plan in place. That means a third of the railroaders have an estate plan, and 20% of those have not even updated their estate plan in the last five years. Things change in life. I'm sure you guys all know that. Five years is a long time, so those things need to be updated. It's not just set it and forget it, right? You constantly have to be looking at that, reviewing it.

I'm not saying every six months, but no later than every two years to be looking at your estate plan. Very, very important document. Then when you break it down even further, 72% of women don't have an estate plan and 60% of men, 59% don't have a estate plan. Then down here, 56% of railroaders who work with advisors, they have a plan. There's some good stuff, more things... That's that idea of having somebody help you.I kind of push you, because at the end of the day, nobody gets excited "Hey, let's go do the estate plan." But it's one of those things that needs to get done and really, really helps you take care of your family in case something unfortunate happens. Let's look at the documents required inside of the estate plan that should be getting done, right?

Last will and testament very important. That's where you want everything to go. This is probably very important for some is the revocable living trust. So you could put in property, a lot of the important things, and what's ever not inside that living trust will pour over into this last will and testament. But what I like about this will help you avoid probate, so that the court doesn't have a say in where things go. Okay? Living trust, very, very important, revocable living trust. Then your beneficiary designations on your accounts, your 401ks, those type of accounts. They supersede last will testament. These beneficiary designations, if you haven't done the estate plan, at least make sure you got those things going down. Get that done. Advanced healthcare directive, right? "Hey, what happens if I get sick?" Don't put people in difficult positions. If you have this done, everybody knows what your wishes are. Get that done.

Financial powers of attorney, another great one, especially if you're taking care of elderly parents, that type of thing. This helps make those... Help guide them. Make those tough financial decisions that might need to get done because somebody might be incapacitated. You want to have that financial power of attorney.

Then on the other end of the spectrum, if you have young children, who are the guardians? Who's going to take care of your kids, right? Very, very important stuff there. These are... Just to outline the documents that you need to get done. Really settle down, try to get done, maybe new year, that type of thing. Say "I'm going to get this estate plan done." But anyway, I want to walk you through this. Reach out to me if you have any questions about estate planning, if you're at or near retirement, go through the boarding for railroad retirement process and we're going to talk about estate planning in that process, that's for sure. Feel free to share this video. I appreciate that. Click on the subscribe button, really growing on that membership, closing in on 5,000. Until next time, everyone, please stay safe, stay on track, and take care. So long everybody.

Get Free Railroad Retirement Assessment

Disclaimer: This article is provided for general information and illustration purposes only. Nothing contained in the material constitutes tax advice, a recommendation for purchase or sale of any security, or investment advisory services. Highball Advisors encourages you to consult a financial planner, accountant, and/or legal counsel for advice specific to your situation. Reproduction of this material is prohibited without written permission from Highball Advisors, and all rights are reserved from Highball Advisors, and all rights are reserved.