Inspired by What your child's doctor wishes you knew...
Suggestions to make your financial planning session more productive:
- If you think it may be relevant - bring it. I am often asked by new clients what to bring to our first meeting. My answer is fairly mundane. I ask them to bring all their most recent tax returns, any statements, and anything else they think I would want to know about it. I am sometimes surprised at what they bring. It is often helpful and I never would have known to ask in advance for things related to unique situations.
- Keep records. If you are not sure what you need to keep, keep it all. Then bring it in and we will go through it together. Some records are replaced when obsolete (like a year to date statement). Others need to be kept for a long while (such as a year end statement of an investment you still own).
- Use your professionals as a team. Your accountant, financial planner, and attorney all have different knowledge sets and perspectives. But often the work done by one professional affects the others. One characteristic of a professional is knowing their limitations. At a minimum we all need to know who is on the team and what you are comfortable with us sharing about you.
- Jot down a list of your main questions and concerns. Rank them by importance. Then we can focus on your priorities.
- The best time and place to meet is at my office and during business hours. I am more than happy to make arrangements to meet at the time and place most convenient for you. But at my office and during regular business hours I have all my resources at my fingertips.
- Share your thoughts about the concepts presented. There are far too many alternatives for me to present them all. Not all aspects of a concept may appeal to you. Let me know what parts you like and dislike. There may (or may not) be an alternative which is closer to your ideal.
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