Planning for your getaways

“While we may not be able to control all that happens to us, we can control what happens inside us.”

- Benjamin Franklin

How was your long weekend? Nice to have that kind of family time, eh? And, of course, it’s sobering on this weekend to remember the sacrifice our veterans made. It can be tempting for us to take a look around (oil spills, economic chaos, a mounting debt, etc.), and feel like everything is spinning out of control.

Our veterans have faced much worse–and prevailed.

The “Greatest Generation”, during WWII, had meat on a weekly basis, sugar monthly, and faced a level of sacrifice we haven’t had to even think about. It’s right that we paused to consider the sacrifice of so many men and women who went without so much–so that we could live the lives we have now.

It’s a good reminder, during these turbulent times. Let’s not give up, in the face of our own fights!

Well, from the sobering…to the vacationing. Maybe you’re on one now (makes sense, on a long weekend), or you’ll be heading on one soon.  Just this past weekend, my family and I had spent the weekend in New Jersey celebrating my cousin’s wedding.  I want to wish both Sheryl and Chris all the best.  It took quite a bit of planning and coordination to book that trip.

And you KNOW I’m “all about planning”, so I wanted to pass along some important advice before you plan ANY trip…

“Straight Talk” Personal Strategy

Avoiding A Vacation Nightmare–A Planner’s Take

When planning your fun-filled itinerary, the last thing you want to do is worry about any financial loss that might occur as a result of a missed flight, an injury or illness, lost baggage, or any other unforeseen incident. To “insure” [;)] your peace of mind while away from home, many companies provide several different types of traveler’s protection plans to help ease the burden.

Without insurance, a traveler can lose nonrefundable deposits and prepayments that can add up to hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars. A good, comprehensive travel insurance plan will often reimburse a traveler for all pre-paid, nonrefundable expenses for a covered loss.

Here are some general types of coverage you may want to consider before heading out for this summer’s vacation:

Travel Arrangement Protection – This covers you in case of trip cancellation, interruption, or travel delays (these can include inclement weather, lost or stolen passports, quarantine, hijacking or natural disaster).

Medical Protection – Despite having health insurance at home, the moment you set foot on foreign soil or even set sail on a cruise, many health plans are considered null and void, so be sure you get travel medical protection to cover emergency medical expenses, such as illness and accident expenses, and emergency medical transportation to the nearest medical facility.

Baggage Protection – Not only do you want coverage for lost, stolen or damaged baggage, but many plans offer reimbursement for the purchase of essential items if baggage is delayed.

Worldwide Emergency Assistance - If traveling outside of the country, make sure you purchase a policy that covers international emergencies. This can include emergency cash transfer assistance, legal assistance, and lost travel documents assistance.

The cost of travel insurance is based, in most cases, on the value of the trip and the age of the traveler. Typically, the cost is 5-7 percent of the trip cost. Like most every other type of insurance, be it automobile, medical, or homeowner’s, you hope you never need to use it. But it can be a relief to have it when you do need it.

The bottom line is: Before embarking on your next trip, do your homework! Talk to your insurance agent – or call me for a recommendation – and learn more about all the different insurance options available to you, so you can make the best choice for your peace of mind!

With that, I’ll leave you until next week.

I’m personally dedicated to the success of your family–and to your vacations! Can other lawyers say that?

Beauty and the Beast = Paupers?

The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority.

- Kenneth Blanchard

Are you a closet Disney addict? Or perhaps you’ve got kids or grandkids who can’t get enough of them. Yes, there is a brilliance to these stories of underdog goodness, winning out over the odds.

Or, umm…so I’ve heard.

Well, as the late Paul Harvey used to say, how’d you like to hear “the rest of the story”?

Many years after their wedding, Belle and her Beast of a prince built a widely-successful family business. They also had two sons–Dewey and Cheatem–as well as a daughter named Sophia. Beast (who was as smart as he was handsome), assumed that a simple inexpensive estate plan was all that was needed. So he left the management and control of the family business to his sons, with one third of the profit to his beloved Belle, and the balance in equal shares to his children, Dewey, Cheatem, and Sophia.

Sadly, Beast died of Feline Infectious Peritonitis the next year.

Five years later, Dewey and Cheatem were collecting piles of gold in salary. Their lavish “business” expenses left only a meager profit to be shared with the others. Belle and Sophia struggled to make ends meet on the leftovers.

You see, the moral to THIS family story is this: Dividing ownership of a family business is the easy part. Ensuring equitable provisions for the entire family is what’s most difficult.

“Straight Talk” Personal Strategy

Avoiding a Family Fight Over The Business

As you know, estate planning is so important for every family, but for those with a family business it becomes even more complex–and doing it wrong can be costly.

Try these numbers:  Only 34% of family businesses successfully pass to the second generation and only 13% make it to the third generation. Avoiding these problems is  dependent on anticipating the right estate plan, taking into account different roles in the family business.

These family business successions are most successful with wise integrated planning of three roles: family, business and ownership – each of which have different goals and objectives as well as rules of behavior. Behavior that is appropriate or tolerated at home may be inappropriate in the business environment. And while many families avoid discussions where there is disagreement, encouraging the expression of disagreement is critical in the business realm, especially the “family business” realm.

Family Dynamics

For most family businesses, the family role is the most important. The emotional issues of unconditional acceptance and equality are both the friction and the glue in many families. Families are naturally inward-focused, seeking to nurture and develop the next generation. This is how it should be.

However, the challenge here is for the older generation to pass on not simply the acumen of the family’s finances, but the strength of the family’s values. Each generation has to be actively raised to the level of “peer” by the actions and attitudes of the generation before them. Beast’s first mistake was failing to provide that type of mentoring for Dewey and Cheatem. (Or maybe it was his choice of names!) Proven family character must be required for leadership in the family business, and a board of directors with at least two outsiders would help keep family values intact. (Mrs. Potts, Lumiere and Cogsworth would be excellent candidates for Belle & Beast’s Board of Directors.)

The Business Role

It’s best to keep a boundary around the realm of the business. For a business to be successful, it has to be able to able to change quickly. Obviously, it has to generate profits, and therefore must be outwardly focused. As a result, family members can’t be treated equally. If one family member works part time, while another chooses to work nights and weekends the monetary incentive needs to be in proportion to the profit each brings into the business.

If a business is passed from one member of the older generation to a single member of the next generation many issues can be postponed or ignored. But if the business moves from a single owner to a partnership of siblings (and then to a set of cousins who are shareholders), the business must continue to run like a business–while simultaneously dealing with a possible wicked brew of family tension. You need to plan for: leader selection, the role of non-employees, conflict resolution, and the shared control of different family branches.

Further, those actually running the business must also be trained in the financial responsibility of management, preferably before the change of ownership. There will need to be policies for fair dividend distribution for those not employed. Again, it’s a very good idea to delegate certain outside governance by a carefully selected Board of Directors.

The Ownership Role

As soon as a family business is divided into shares there will be those working “in” the business and those who merely own shares in the business. Plans must be made for buy-outs, professionalized management, mentoring, and family council meetings.

Transfer of ownership is the least complex of these three roles for estate planning, but it won’t achieve your succession goals without a solid family structure AND a healthy business structure in place.

Family businesses are complex, needing to address multiple roles. Wise estate planning for the family businesses accepts, mentors and integrates others (family role); makes a profit and demonstrates objective professionalism in its decisions (business role); and plans for the inevitable – a successful transfer of ownership to the next generation (ownership role).

With that, I’ll leave you until next week.

I’m personally dedicated to the success of your family–and to your dreams!  Can other lawyers say that?

Robin Hood and the confusing mess right now

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor touched … but are felt in the heart.”

- Helen Keller

Haven’t there been enough versions of this tale?

Apparently not. The Russell Crowe version hit the screens over the weekend, and according to reviewers, it’s “unclear” what kind of political statement Mr. The Hood is making by his actions.

Is he a “Tea-Partier”…or is he robbing the rich to give to the poor? Well, one thing he DOES do is rob from the corrupt, and give to the needy. But in this case, the “needy” happens to be a former land baron–a small business owner, if you will.

So…make of this what you will.

But there is a taxation theme. King John seems to be trying to squeeze his subjects for every last dime, and employs thugs to do it. Robin Hood to the rescue!

Well, with taxes on the mind, as you may know, Congress hasn’t yet taken any action on a situation. We currently see no estate tax plan in place. It’s a confusing mess…for some planners.

(Here’s a story about options they’re considering–including a “pre-paid” estate tax option:

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/domestic-taxes/97239-kyl-deal-on-the-estate-tax-in-the-offing )

So, what does that mean for you and your family?

Well, it may not actually mean much–but there are some things which you should always be thinking about, REGARDLESS of the “estate tax” situation. Read on…

“Straight Talk” Personal Strategy

Do More Than “Just” Avoid Taxes

It’s an all-too-common misconception that smart estate planning is all about avoiding the “estate tax”.

And, if that were the case, only the very wealthy would be affected by it–since (until this year, with no current legislation in place) only those with estates carrying over $3.5 million in value weren’t exempt.

You may fall into that category, but even if you DON’T (and if you do), you should be considering the following questions as a family. You see, regardless of what’s happening in Congress, you should focus your attention on what issues you can deal with now:

What are your values and goals?

The key question to ask is, “How do you want your success to affect your children and grandchildren?”

Every family has a different answer to that question, and it’s an extremely important–foundational–component of how we work with our client families. Some planning only takes “money” into consideration. And while that’s certainly an important item to consider, the money is really only there to create a specific destiny, and style-of-life that you’d want to see carried into successive generations.

And it doesn’t require a lot of “it” [money] for you to be able to pass along your most precious values.

I often urge my clients and friends to actually take the time to consider this question, because it may seem obvious on its face…but your answers will often surprise you.

And we’re here to provide any kind of support along the way which you might require. We’re pretty practiced in helping families cut through the clutter of financial statements–and find the hidden gems of core values and relationships.

And THOSE are the only things which really do last forever.

Let’s talk more, if you want to explore these issues. Because regardless of how Congress eventually acts, walking without the right kind of plan can create an even worse mess when the time comes–and it’s not just about the money.

With that, I’ll leave you until next week.

I’m personally dedicated to the success of your family–and to your dreams! Can other lawyers say that?

Get clear on what really drives you…

“So many fail because they don’t get started — they don’t go.  They don’t overcome inertia.  They don’t begin.”

- W. Clement Stone

If it’s not one thing, it’s your mother…

And I hope you did what you could to make her feel special this weekend. Or, if she’s no longer with us–that the other mothers in your life felt blessed.

Look, I normally dislike “Hallmark Holidays”, but there really is something very beautiful and right about honoring mothers (and fathers too). They deserve more than a one-time, greeting-card-fueled day, of course … but at least it’s an excuse for all of us to open our eyes to the vital work of Mommyhood.

Obviously, it’s a foundational part of what I do–working with families who deeply care about every generation … and it makes our practice extremely gratifying.

Moving on, last week I delivered a bit of a “shot in the arm” for our clients and friends with that video, urging you to get off the mat and keep fighting. And I pointed you towards playing a bigger game in the life of your family…well, now I’d like to address something which we sometimes do have the chance to be pro-active about with our clients–helping you think through finances and passions for the later stages of a marriage and family…

This isn’t intended to be marital or financial advice, but more as a thinking guide to help you assess your direction.

“Straight Talk” Personal Strategy

Big Picture Thinking For Mature Marriages

You’ve probably seen this, as I have: The second half of marriage can either be the best time of life … or it’s the time when a marriage breaks up. The transition can catch unsuspecting couples off guard.

A survey from the book “The Second Half of Marriage” surveyed couples’ responses to the question: “What are the areas that cause the greatest stress in your marriage?” In every decade of life, the number one answer was “finances.” Budgeting, retirement planning, and other money issues can easily ruin what might otherwise be a time of remembering why you got married in the first place.

Times of transition are particularly hard on marriages. As the work of raising a family wanes, couples often look to each other for help in redefining their calling in life. Mothers who have devoted years to caring for children may want to fulfill one of the dreams they postponed decades ago. They may want to go back to school, take on a new career, or be more involved in charitable causes. Husbands, on the other hand, may find they are ready to scale back their careers.

While having a close friendship and spiritual commitment are the most important ingredients of a fulfilling relationship, financial troubles are usually the primary point of contention.

If you and your spouse are approaching this season of transition, take this opportunity to check-up on your retirement money, your marriage, and your mission.

First, get your retirement plan together. A retirement plan, like a spending plan, helps a couple limit their disagreements to only those issues outside the plan.

For most couples, expenses drop significantly after their children finish college. Although saving in the early years of marriage is ideal, when the kids are finally off on their own, couples get one last chance to save for retirement.

These years before retirement are critical in determining whether you have sufficient assets to retire. As your financial planner may tell you, by the first day of retirement, you should plan on having about 23 times your annual income.

Next, reestablish opportunities for communication with your spouse! The period just before the children leave home is often the most difficult on the marriage relationship. After a quarter century, the communication focus of most couples is their children. So create new ways to communicate–outside of the lives of your children.

By the way, know that it’s not your fault. The natural course of relationships is to drift apart. So, don’t be down on yourself if you and your spouse are ‘working’ on your marriage. The fact is, if you aren’t working on your marriage, it is probably headed in the wrong direction.

Finally, find your mission for this new phase of your life. It’s real easy when you are young to think you have all the time in the world for the good things in life. First your job, then the kids (rightfully) occupied much of your time. But, as these responsibilities begin to ease, take another look at the bigger life questions which are so important, even if they aren’t immediately urgent.

There’s a good book you can check out, The Seven Stages of Money Maturity by George Kinder, and in it are three questions to help people see what is really driving them. Perhaps you should take the time to write out some answers honestly and thoughtfully, and then share your thoughts with your spouse:

1. If you knew you would have all the money that you needed, now and in the future, from this moment forward, how would you live your life?

2. If the doctor told you that you would die suddenly and without symptoms in five to ten years, how would you change your life for the time that remains?

3. If the doctor told you that you would be dead within twenty-four hours, what feelings, regrets, longings, and unfulfilled dreams would haunt you?

Let’s be honest: Sometimes the vague answers that we live by are not ultimately satisfying. Reevaluating our purpose can give renewed meaning to our lives and relationships, especially in a season of change.

I’m personally dedicated to the success of your family–and to your marriage! Can other lawyers say that?

You’re not a landscaper

“While we may not be able to control all that happens to us, we can control what happens inside us.”

- Benjamin Franklin

May Day! May Day!

Alright–it’s not a distress signal…it’s more like the opportunity to enjoy the shift in seasons…the shift in what’s possible for you. Let the warming weather ENCOURAGE you to remember what’s possible.

And, when (not if–when) you’re feeling like you want to give up … watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf5Leeh9JQo

And bookmark it. Oh, and come right back here when you’re finished

Look, I’m not a motivational coach–I’m a lawyer.

But I KNOW that our clients and friends face the same “junk” every season–doubt, fear, worry. And finances can play such a big role there. By the way–this is something that even the wealthiest among our clients *still* deal with.

Don’t believe the hype that having more zeros in your bank balance eliminates all of your problems.

Instead–pick up, pray, do what you need to do to dust off the detritus of fear and doubt…and step into what you were made to do.

I wanted to encourage you in a way to make the space to “step up your game!” It’s something business owners are routinely trying to do…but it works for families too…

Rowel Manasan’s

“Straight Talk” Personal Strategy

You’re Not A Landscaper, So Quit Landscaping

Alright, quick confession: I’m not very handy around the house.

In fact, I hardly know how to plug in a hammer. (Ba dum bum, ching!)

But I’ve embraced my all-thumbs ways, and have learned to see why this “deficiency” enables me to think bigger, and grow wealth for my family.

Look, admit that most things you cannot do (with apologies to the very “handy” among us): You probably aren’t going to redo the roof on your house. You likely don’t have a clue how to knock down a wall to open up the downstairs. If the potty stops working and the plunger and Drano don’t work, you’re calling the plumber. Likewise, you pay someone to work on your car because you either don’t know how to or you’d rather have a professional do it.

But one of the common messages which even the wealthiest among us often find themselves adhering to is: “Do it yourself to save money.” Don’t hire a maid, don’t go out to eat, don’t pay someone to do your yard. Do it yourself and save money.

Baloney.

I say: “Outsource everything you can and focus on building your wealth!”

Oh, and it’s not only good for you, it’s good for the world economy. It’s called “comparative advantage” and it’s why you aren’t a landscaper. Or a plumber.

Some people have the time or the motivation to do things other people would outsource. I know plenty of men that just like to change their car’s oil. But I also know people too busy (and productive)  to mow their own grass. So you have to decide what aspects of your life are worth outsourcing.

For families & mothers, there’s plenty that you perhaps *shouldn’t* outsource: raising your children, engaging with charities, loving your spouse (!). But there’s likely to be plenty of tasks which sap your energy, drain your productivity (in the home AND in your work pursuits) and can be successfully handled by an hourly earner.

Personally, I hope to make it possible that I’m so productive I have to outsource just about everything. Said differently: I want to just work, help clients, and pay people to do just about everything else for me.

What about you?

I’m personally dedicated to the success of your family. Can other lawyers say that?