BY JASON M. MORLEY
Generally, the things we hate to do most, we put off last on our to-do list. In my case, it is whatever my wife asks me to do around the house. I get so much more pleasure working with investments or working on my current business then anything around the house. To know that a shoe rack is up and functional brings me no pleasure but to stop my wife from asking me to do it.
It is this same type of disinterest that has caused so many to put off proper planning in all aspects of our lives. There are many things I have leaned through working with many clients and by far the most important one is planning. Just talking to others about your wishes can do so much to improve the process of brainstorming your choices. This thought process has nothing to do with the other important aspects of planning that are really part of the implementation process, (i.e. insurance, wills, power of attorney, etc.) however, this most important step must come first. Regardless of what has been put in your will, to ensure that it will be proceed properly after your death, you must let you family know of your wishes and what you expect. Go ahead and have that talk with your grandkids or children regarding how much money you have and who gets what. A child in a position to inherit money that has never handled money of that size before will not know how to treat the money with care and the way you had in mind they would use it. Money is the one thing that the more you have and know less about, will soon cause immediate problems.
This issue also goes well beyond just money but money seems to always be the issue that will live after death. So please, do your best to talk when you can and the times are good. This needs to be done long before a visit to a lawyer or investment advisor.
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Jason M. Morley, CPA/PFS, CFP is founding principal of Morley Financial Planning, a Fee-Only financial planning and Registered Investment Advisory firm headquartered on Long Island in Suffolk County New York. The firm specializes in providing financial planning and investment advice to people from all walks of life. For more information you can contact Jason at 631-454-9444 or visit his Web site at
MorleyFinancial.com