What Women Need to Know

This episode explores the critical aspects of estate planning and financial management for women inheriting wealth, emphasizing the importance of holistic planning, beneficiary updates, and emotional support during life transitions.

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the heart of your money with Joe Yaakovic, president and founder of JML Financial Group. We hope today's show can help you on the road to your financial wellness. Now, here's Joe Yaakovic and the Heart of Your Money.

SPEAKER_04 0:15

And Lynn is joining us today in the studio. So welcome Lynn Yakovich along with Joe, who's the president and founder of JML Financial Group. Again, this is the heart of your money, and we are gonna make retirement a good time. And speaking of good times, I heard you were at a party last weekend.

SPEAKER_02 0:34

Yes, we were uh we were at a party, Lynn and I, and and it was for uh Lynn's mom, 97. She's got brothers that are in their 90s. I mean, the whole family seemed to make over 90.

SPEAKER_04 0:45

So we're looking at some good longevity on your side, Lynn.

SPEAKER_02 0:48

Oh, absolutely. Big time.

SPEAKER_04 0:49

That's why I'm gonna take over the show.

SPEAKER_02 0:53

That was easy.

SPEAKER_04 0:54

I love that. We've got girl power going on today. And and actually, you know, I'm glad that you mentioned that because there was a question that I wanted to get to, knowing that you were gonna be on the show today. And it is about women and how we are inheriting money these days with a great wealth transfer. Started about two years ago, continuing through 2048, $124 trillion expected to change hands, but not just to the next generation, $54 trillion probably going to a spouse, most likely a woman like yourself or me Lynn. So is this something at JML Financial Group you prepare the female in the couple usually for this happening? Always.

SPEAKER_03 1:39

So, first of all, um first and foremost, when this happens to a spouse, we have to realize this is a really difficult time. We go with their own pace. And there are some clients they just want a new plan, they want it done now. And there are others that take it very slowly. So because it's so emotional, we basically have to go on their timeline and and take it however they want to do it. But we will get it done eventually. And others, you can wait a little bit. Um, but the first thing I would tell them is, you know, go on vacation and go shopping. A little self-care can go a long way. I mean, that's that's that's my idea. So this is what she's doing when you're gone.

SPEAKER_04 2:23

You understand that, right? She's taking a vacation.

SPEAKER_02 2:26

She forget about me in about 30 minutes. But but no, we uh we've had and Lynn has been instrumental in participating in my office at that particular time. It's so important when we know we're having someone come in that just lost a spouse. So she becomes really uh important because of understanding the all the things that take place. Uh again, changing of the guard, so to speak, you need to change your Social Security benefits. Uh there's adjustments and standard deductions. I mean, there's a lot of things that are taking place that we do. That's the beauty about our firm. I I've never were a single type of individual just doing one thing at one time. I would do a couple of different things, and they all kind of blend it together, especially in this type of situation where you have husband, wife being married for a long time, one passes, what's the next step? And it's like she said, it's it's pretty dramatic, and we've uh we've been through a lot of them.

SPEAKER_03 3:22

Well, even from the beginning, when we meet with a couple, um, our planning process includes strategies for them, and then when one of them eventually becomes single, because it will happen. So, you know, one of the things we have to look at is that new cash flow that a person has, because it's going to be impacted. Um Social Security, you're going to lose one benefit, possibly a pension, you might be losing it, or just getting half of it. So, you know, a lot of the monthly expenses will stay the same, but the cash flow has changed. So we need to look at all of that, look at all the benefits, and then from there, that's when we need to develop a new plan. Um, even with tax filing status. You know, widow spouse, they they have to be prepared for that tax change because they're gonna they're gonna face a less favorable tax bracket. So these are all the things that we have to look at all the time. And then once we have that new cash flow, that that new cash flow plan, then we can implement other strategies and focus on their new goals. We can build those strategies to accomplish whatever they're going to be. You know, there's a lot of transitioning from being married to single. Um one of the things we also do at some point if if they're okay with it, is to bring in an adult child so that at least one family member, since you don't have a spouse any longer, can kind of get a handle on on where your assets are and what your plan looks like and who to reach if something happens to you, which is is us. So we put together a whole directory for that. Um we really organize everything to make it easier for not only the the widow, but also for her family who will be the ones now taking over things at some point eventually.

SPEAKER_02 5:03

So that's why the master plan is so important because everything is put together. I mean, we really believe in holistic planning for our clients. It's just not, you know, just selling an annuity or a life insurance contract or just put money away. It's it's there's a lot of anxiety going on and taking place. You know, we are big believers in making sure their health is in order to be able to address these things as we move down the road with them. But again, it's an it's really important to have a husband. And I never thought about this when I started out, so I you know, uh I don't know if I should take the credit or not, but uh the fact that, you know, my wife is in the game, my son's in the game, you know, and we of course we use AI at the highest level, we're addressing and checking off all the boxes, especially health care issues that it's you know that it's been just increasing dramatically with cost. So we have to factor that into the new situation that you know we're now being dealt with. The other thing is, it's like we said, you know, Social Security, when to take it, when not to take it, you know, how to take it. These are things that, you know, if somebody passes, you know, we come in and address that up right up front. As Lynn says, you know, you're you're getting cut in half with your benefit. And and what benefit did you take? Did you take the higher one or the lower one, or what was it that we need to make those adjustments on? And that's so important that in a strategic plan that we put together, and it doesn't have to be complicated. I mean, Lynn will pretty much take over that section of the conversation with my clients. And we're in it together. I mean, I'm sitting there, Lynn's there, Michael comes in from time to time, but we're there, especially in situations like this, addressing, you know, everything that we can think of of all the years that we've been doing this to make sure they feel really comfortable and what their decisions are. It's really sound and really open so they can see exactly what the best goals for themselves would be moving forward.

SPEAKER_04 6:51

Lynn, you mentioned there are things that need to be done immediately and there are things that can wait once one of the spouses have passed. What are the things that are most important to get done at the beginning of the process?

SPEAKER_03 7:06

Well, the first thing is we have to change all the beneficiaries on everything. Because for the most part, if your spouse was your beneficiary, you now have to make another person your beneficiary and possibly add contingent beneficiaries. If you had a trust in place, the trust language might need to be changed. So that's the first thing. Um, because if that's not done, that can create a lot of problems down the road. So that's the very, very first thing that we do. And how many documents?

SPEAKER_04 7:38

How many documents are we talking about? Like what accounts, how many things usually need to have a beneficiary changed?

SPEAKER_03 7:44

Everything life insurance policies, investments, savings accounts, and everything that you have your spouse as a beneficiary needs to be changed.

SPEAKER_02 7:53

We just had a ch a case not too long ago, and uh with we'll we'll name her Beth, hypothetically. And this is exactly what happened. Husband passed, and it wasn't something that we knew was gonna happen. It was just sudden. And uh Lynn and I went and we were and we've been doing business with the people for a while, but they had the family come in and we made all these arrangements and all these changes, and it's so big of all things could possibly happen that uh the remaining spouse, she became uninsurable. She got into a situation where we couldn't get anything on her in terms of insurance, but we already had it on her already, luckily. And we made some uh you know changes to that. We're the beneficiary, as Lynn said earlier, we we changed it from the husband now to the kids. And again, that's a that's uh detail because you need death certificates, you need a lot of information so you can do that, and that's what we do. We really hand deliver that that service. I think it's just so important as you said earlier, uh uh Sari, in terms of, you know, we are old school in a lot of ways, but we use technology and AI at the highest level. So for us, it works perfectly. It's just that it's those type of conversations that people still want that relationship and and such. And and I think we do really, I I believe we're probably one of the best in the field doing it this way.

SPEAKER_03 9:12

Yeah, plus, you know, it's so nice to be able to hand that off to someone else when you're dealing with your own emotions. You don't want to be bothered with paperwork.

SPEAKER_04 9:18

Yeah, so it's a really good idea if you're listening right now and you're lucky enough to still have your partner with you, and you're even luckier if you still like your partner. You know, now's the time that you want to protect that person because that's really what this kind of estate planning is. I've heard it called a gift before. It's a gift that you're giving to your loved ones when you're not there to help them any longer.

SPEAKER_03 9:42

Very true.

SPEAKER_02 9:43

Very true, and we believe that. I mean, we've been doing it for a long time as we as I talk to people about how long I've been doing this, but you know, well, the math doesn't add up, Joe, because you're like 40 years old.

SPEAKER_04 9:53

So I don't even know how you've been doing this for 40 years. I started with seven.

SPEAKER_02 9:58

But no, it's been fun. You know, it's it's never uh a dull moment. We're we're still today uh, you know, having clients that come in. We still uh grow our business organically. You know, we bring business in different different places, different sources. We're using AI, you know, we're we're using the uh the information that's uh currently available to us and we use all the uh the LinkedIn, the Facebook things to uh have people be aware of us and what we do. Uh and because of the books and the the conversations I have with my clients, you know, we we hand out the books to people and they end up handing them out to someone else that they think they could help. And if you read the book and if you listen to the book, you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. It's it's not complicated, it's pretty simple to understand, but it's fundamental. It's that you know, pretty much uh uh when we put a plan together, it it encompasses everything. We don't know what's gonna happen with taxes, we don't know where inflation is gonna be, we don't know what social security could change orders, we don't know where health care could do to all of us, we don't know with Irma, you know, Medicare premium. So we're it tied in with a of a number of people as a team. We're making sure that all these variables are done correctly. And I and and a lot of times, and I don't have to tell anyone that stuff falls through the cracks all the time. You know, we we miss checks or they mail that out uh ordinary. I mean, it's kind of funny that what we do, we see, we still can't believe some of the things that happen in our marketplace, but we're there to make sure it's done correctly, and that's the most important thing. That it's done correctly, and we have communication going on with the client continuously, either through phone calls, emails, Zoom meetings. You know, you have it, and and that's what pretty much what we do, and we've been doing it for a long time this way. So we make it make our lives quite easy.

SPEAKER_01 11:45

Securities and investment advisory services offered through Integrity Alliance LLC, member SIPC. Integrity Wealth is a marketing name for Integrity Alliance LLC and is not affiliated with Integrity Wealth. Joe Yakovich is an investment advisor representative and registered representative with Integrity Alliance LLC, a registered investment advisor and member SIPC. Integrity Wealth is a marketing name for Integrity Alliance LLC. Integrity Wealth is not an affiliated company. Opinions expressed on this program do not necessarily reflect those of Integrity Wealth. The topics discussed and opinions given are not intended to address the specific needs of any listener. JML Financial Group does not offer legal or tax advice. Listeners are encouraged to discuss their financial needs with the appropriate professional regarding your individual circumstance. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Fixed annuities are long-term insurance contracts, and there is a surrender charge imposed generally during the first five to seven years that you own the annuity contract. Indexed annuities are insurance contracts that, depending on the contract, may offer a guaranteed annual interest rate and some participation if any of a stock market index. Such contracts have substantial variation in terms, cost of guarantees and features, and make out participation or returns in significant ways. Investors are cautioned to carefully review an indexed annuity for its features, cost, risks, and how the variables are calculated. Any guarantees offered are backed by the financial strength of the insurance company. Surrender charges apply if not held to the end of the term. Withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income, and if taken prior to 59 and a half, a 10% federal tax penalty. Converting an employer plan account or traditional IRA to a Roth IRA is a taxable event. Increased taxable income from Roth IRA conversion may have several consequences, including but not limited to a need for additional tax withholding or estimated tax payments, the loss of certain tax deductions and credits, and higher taxes on Social Security benefits and higher Medicare premiums. Be sure to consult with a qualified tax advisor before making any decisions regarding your IRA. Rebalancing reallocating can entail transaction costs and tax consequences that should be considered when determining a rebalancing reallocation strategy.