Costly Delays
“The benefit of a little advanced planning can positively impact the financial well-being of a family for generations upon generations.”
Costly Delays
I received a tragic call from a close friend just before the New Year. The night before, her husband had passed on. He was the type of person you could spend hours talking to. A true family man, hilarious to boot, and an amazing chef. The week before he and I had reconnected, we were overdue for a visit and talked about planning time to meet with the families. He was a small business owner, and I cared about his family and their well being, so I had planned to discuss his financial planning, business protection for his catering company and restaurant. Thinking we had plenty of time, I thought I would wait until the beginning of the year. I had no idea that would be the last opportunity we would ever have to speak.
At his wake, person after person rose to speak of the impact he had on their lives. His daughter wrote a beautiful poem and prose that she dedicated to him. His wife held others up as they broke down from the pain of the loss. As I watched from my seat, I could not stop worrying about the future of this beautiful family without their patriarch. I also could not shake off the incredible disappointment that I had with myself that I had not moved sooner. What if I had intervened and supported him in meeting his health goals. What if I had reached out sooner and helped him to protect his business in the event of a tragedy like this. With a daughter too young to take on his business but with that as her life goal, perhaps I could have had an impact on this family that would have completely changed their financial trajectory. Why should they both suffer this loss of life and financial hardship.
After this most recent loss, I realized that there is no room for hesitation. I will not permit myself to experience this unnecessary regret again. The cost of a little delay, can hurt one's children and their children's children. The benefit of a little advanced planning can positively impact the financial well-being of a family for generations to come.