Episode 45: Estate Planning with Jennifer King
Segment 1 (Show Open):
Good afternoon, everyone! Welcome in. Welcome to Coasting in Retirement! That’s. Right. Thanks for joining us today, we’re excited to have you! Josh Null here, Michelle is off this week, and we are joined by a very special guest, Jennifer King of King & King Attorneys at Law! Jennifer, how are you? We are recording this episode in Coastal College’s recording studio, beautiful downtown Fairhope, ready to put together another great show for those of you tuning in!
Listeners: Jennifer and I are here to discuss financial topics relevant to those of you in or near retirement, living your best life along our part of the gulf coast. If you’ve only got time to listen to one financial show this week, well, you picked the right one. Here’s what we’ve got in store for you today: First segment – deep dive on our topic of the day. 2nd segment - at about 25 minutes past the hour - “News Headlines of the Week”. Then at roughly 45 minutes past the hour, stick around for our 3rd segment, we call it” Josh’s Crystal Ball and Big Mouth”. We’ll see if Jennifer has any bold predictions. So buckle up, we’ve got a lot to get to!
Quick background on me for those new to the show. Again, my name is Josh Null, I am a fee-based financial advisor, I hold my FINRA Series 65 securities license, and I am the owner of Gulf Coast Financial Advisors, we are an independent investment management and financial planning firm with offices in Fairhope, Orange Beach, and Mobile! You can find more information on me and Gulf Coast Financial Advisors by visiting our website gulfcoastfa.com, or feel free to give us a call at 251-327-2124. If you missed that contact info, grab a pen and pad, we will repeat our contact info several times throughout the show!
Jennifer, before we get to our main topic of the day, please tell the listeners who you are and a little bit more about King and King Attorneys at Law.
Alright, let’s get on with our show. As part of the comprehensive financial planning services we offer at GCFA, one of the most important segments of our client’s life we want to help get buttoned up is their estate planning needs. Now given that we are not attorneys ourselves, just financial advisors, to accomplish this we reach out to our preferred attorney partners, with Jennifer’s firm being at the top of the list. While Jennifer and her husband Dusty handle a multitude of legal services, what I wanted to focus on today were the 3-4 most common questions I often get from new clients. You good with that, Jennifer? Great. I’m going to list these questions then let’s tackle them one at a time:
1. First up - Wills vs. Trusts—What’s the difference, benefits, etc
2. Next - Probate: what is probate, how does the process go, do you want to avoid it, etc?
3. Powers of Attorney/ Advance Directives: Why they are necessary, what the directives ensure, etc; what does a poa help avoid?
Listeners, if you’re interested in starting your own conversation about your retirement goals and dreams, we encourage you to reach out to us. You can schedule an in-person appointment at any of our 3 offices in downtown Fairhope, Orange Beach or Mobile, by simply calling 251-327-2124, or you can reach us through our website gulfcoastfa.com. One our site, you can choose to send us a direct message, or you can click on the blue button in the upper right-hand corner to set up a 15-minute introductory phone call on my calendar.
For those listeners that don’t want to talk to me and go directly to Jennifer, Jennifer, what’s your best contact info?:
Alright folks, coming up next - There’s always a lot going on in the world! Particularly the world of finance, investments and money. Every week we scour the internet for financial articles related to our topic of the day, especially articles that pertain to those in or near retirement. So join us after the break to hear Jennifer and I discuss this week’s relevant headlines in our “News Headlines of the Week” segment. Stay tuned!
Segment 2 - News of the Week:
Josh: “Welcome back to Coasting in Retirement, your host Josh Null here! As we discussed before the break, every week we scour the internet for financial articles related to our topic of the day, especially articles that pertain to those of you in or near retirement. Our job is to help you all understand how these headlines impact you, especially when it comes to your money! Note – if you want to read our referenced articles yourself, we also include the links in our show transcript, which you can find on our website gulfcoastfa.com under the podcast tab. We upload our episodes every Monday after the show airs on Sunday. Without further ado, here’s the “News Headlines of the Week”!
1. Josh: So Jennifer, Michelle normally reads these headlines, but this time I’ll be presenting recent articles and getting your reaction. I thought I would start with something very familiar to you to help get you in the groove, so I found a very recent article on your website, kingplc.com, titled “How to Put Business Interests Into a Trust”. We discussed trusts in the opening segment of the show so I thought this would be an interesting continuing of that conversation. Your article discusses some of the reasons for business owners to consider putting their business into a trust, you discuss how to do it, and most importantly, you discuss some of the potential downfalls of this action, especially if the paperwork isn’t filed properly. So I’ll give you the floor – walk us through a typically trust conversation with a business owner considering using one for their biz:
https://kingplc.com/blog/how-to-put-business-interests-into-a-trust/
2. Josh: Next up Jennifer, an article from a source we reference often, who also just happens to serve as the custodian of funds for my advisory clients, Charles Schwab, or ol’ Chuck Schwab as Michelle refers to them. Chuck, Charles, Charlie, however you want to say, they have an article titled “5 Myths About High-Net-Worth Estate Planning”. With only 5 bullet points, what caI would like to do is list each and get your feedback, sound good? Ok, here we go:
Estate Planning myth #1: Once I create a trust, my assets are protected:
Myth #2: Once I craft an estate plan, I’m done:
Myth #3: My spouse automatically inherits my unused lifetime estate tax exemption:
Myth #4: Estate planning is only about death and taxes:
And, finally, myth #5: My will dictates who gets what assets”
https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/5-myths-about-high-net-worth-estate-planning
3. Josh: Alright Jennifer, we referenced your website to open this segment, now let’s pivot to mine, gulfcoastfa.com. I have a recent article with a lengthy title called “Taking Care of Your Family After Your Passing: Here’s How to Write a Letter of Intent During the Estate Planning Process”. Now to be honest with our listeners, I did not write this article, but I chose to post it on my website because I thought it helped fill in the some of the more specific details that may not be included in a final Will and Testament, which is often trying to get the big stuff sorted out. For example, I have personal family experience with grandparents that did not specify how certain personal belongings needed to be distributed, and let me tell you listeners, I was amazed at how attached some of my family was to “stuff”. That said Jennifer, do you encourage your clients to write a Letters of Intent, and if so, what are you trying to accomplish with it?
https://gulfcoastfa.com/blog/taking-care-of-your-family-after-your-passing-heres-how-to-write-a-letter-of-intent-during-the-estate-planning-process
Josh: Jennifer, great job as always with the headlines, these are all important pieces of information that impacts those folks in or near retirement! Listeners, if you’re interested in starting your own conversation about your retirement goals and dreams, we encourage you to reach out to us. You can schedule an in-person appointment at any of our 3 offices in downtown Fairhope, Orange Beach or Mobile by simply calling 251-327-2124, or you can reach us through our website gulfcoastfa.com. One our site, you can choose to send us a direct message, or you can click on the blue button in the upper right-hand corner to set up a 15-minute introductory phone call on my calendar.
Alright folks, coming up next: Josh’s Crystal Ball and Big Mouth. What have been some of my predictions? Have I been right? Was I ever wrong? What do I think is going to affect investors in the near future, or maybe even the distant future? We talk about all of these things and poke a little fun at my big mouth. Stay tuned!
Segment 3 – Josh’s Crystal Ball and Big Mouth:
Welcome back! Your host Josh Null here, alongside our very special guest, Jennifer King of King & King Attorneys at Law. So, Jennifer, I am opinionated, I have strong opinions at times, I would say a radio show host that isn’t probably wouldn’t be very interesting to listen to. And we both are paid in our respective professions to offer professional guidance and opinions to our clients, otherwise what use would we be? Just replace us with AI. Now sometimes I feel so strongly about something that I talk about it publicly, sometimes I’ll even make predictions, and while I am usually proved right, there are times I swing and I miss. So let’s see if either me or Jennifer has to eat any crow today. Let’s get at with Josh’s Crystal Ball and Big Mouth.
Well listeners, I hoped you enjoyed a little history on how Jennifer and I form our opinions and predictions, and more importantly, that we’re willing to admit when we are wrong…which isn’t very often, but still. If you’re interested in starting your own conversation about your retirement goals and dreams, then we invite you one last time to reach out to us. For me and Gulf Coast Financial Advisors, you can schedule an in-person appointment at any of our 3 offices in downtown Fairhope, Orange Beach or Mobile by simply calling 251-327-2124, or you can reach us through our website gulfcoastfa.com. One our site, you can choose to send us a direct message, or you can click on the blue button in the upper right-hand corner to set up a 15-minute introductory phone call on my calendar. And for those of you that want to bypass me and go straight to Jennifer, I’ll give her another opportunity to give her contact info.
Folks, that’s it for us this week here at Coasting in Retirement! I want to give a huge thank you our guest, Jennifer King, thank you to our show sponsor, Providence Partners, thank you to our awesome radio station FM Talk 106.5 out of Mobile, many thanks to the provider of our show music, local band Sloth Racer, huge thank to the show producer, son Payton Null, in his freshman year at Auburn, and as always my sincere appreciation for all of your out there that have been listening and joining us on this journey. We would love to be a part of your journey as well! Until we talk again next Sunday, have a wonderful and productive week. This has been Coasting in Retirement with Josh Null!
GCFA Disclosure:
Gulf Coast Financial Advisors, LLC ("GCFA”) is a registered investment adviser offering advisory services in the State of Alabama and in such other jurisdictions where it is registered, filed the required notices, or is otherwise excluded or exempted from such registration and/or notice filing requirements. Registration does not indicate or imply that GCFA has attained a particular level of skill or ability, nor does it constitute an endorsement of the firm by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or any state securities regulator.
The Coasting in Retirement radio program serves mainly to disseminate general information including those pertaining to GCFA’s advisory services, together with access to additional investment-related information, publications, materials and links. The publication of this radio show should not be construed by any client and/or prospective client as GCFA’s solicitation to effect, or attempt to effect transactions in securities, nor should it be interpreted as GCFA providing personalized investment advice, or any type of professional advice, for compensation, wherever this program is broadcast. Any subsequent, direct communication by GCFA with a prospective client will be conducted by a representative that is either registered or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration in the state where the prospective client resides.
Certain information, news stories, headlines, data, charts, graphs, figures or statistics presented on this radio program may have been obtained from third-party sources that are believed to be generally reliable but which GCFA may not have independently verified. GCFA does not and cannot guarantee the timeliness, accuracy, or reliability of any such third-party information and undertakes no obligation to update or correct any information that may become obsolete, unreliable, or inaccurate. The radio program also contains the opinions, views, and perspectives expressed by Josh Null and any other GCFA representatives which are solely their own, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, or perspectives of GCFA as a firm. Such personal views and opinions should not be construed as endorsements or professional advice from GCFA. GCFA makes no representation or warranty regarding the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information on this radio program, and disclaims any liability for any direct or indirect loss or damage incurred from using or relying on such information.
GCFA, Aptus, Providence Benefits and Providence Partners are not affiliated, nor are any of their respective representatives.