| | | Re: not wanting to leave a complicated mess when you go changes per
I have harped on this here before but not for several years. Managing stocks or any investments isn't hard for folks who have the experience and desire to do so, Lots of folks just don't.
To me, the best plan for not leaving a mess is to find the right person "with a shovel and bucket" to clean up after me.
I have helped a lot of family/clan/friends settle estates and deal with the aftermath of a spouse passing. It is heartbreaking to see the look on a surviving spouse' face (usually a wife) who knows nothing about finances or how her spouse was managing their money when she realizes that she is now in charge of things she doesn't understand. Seeing that a few times woke me up about our own situation.
My wife is brilliant and has a good head for finance. She used to do commodities for a huge global mining company. Now she runs a school for mostly poor migrant families. She *could* manage money but *won't* manage money. When I go, she doesn't want to do anything but cash the checks (she tells me that my job is to set it up so there is all the money there she will ever need and that she won't have to manage). Yes Ma'am.
.
So, I have a fiduciary money manager who will take over managing everything when I go. We decided I was in a better position to pick the right person than my wife will be when I die. Better for her than her having learn to manage investments (especially when she has no interest).
Part of my "choosing a manager" process was to research someone and if I thought they were a good candidate, I would let them manage part of our portfolio and see how they did and how we felt.
We went through several managers (from brokerages, etc.) until I stumbled on a guy I had actually known socially for years. I hadn't realize he is a fiduciary money manager. He has been great for us. Our world views are pretty aligned, he understands our family/clan/charitable goals, plus he is really good at managing. When I drop dead, my wife just has to take him the rest of the accounts and ask him to take over. Best part is that my wife has known him for decades and trusts him, so we sleep well at night knowing he is there.
I gave him about 20% of our US securities to manage (decades ago) and he has done fine. He is also a really good "anchor" for me to compare myself to when I start to get too crazy. We meet a couple of times a year to talk about things.
My current project is to pick his successor. He tells me he isn't planning to retire soon, but I know he will want to at some point - so he is helping me pick someone in the "next generation" to take over.
Bottom line is that I feel OK doing some crazy, messy things knowing that our guy can clean up after me if I die before I clean up my own mess.
My current challenge is to finish winding down all of our offshore stuff so that nobody has to clean that up. My partners and I spent over 30 years building it. I am not sure I could even explain it all to someone, let alone get them to manage it. Biggest obstacle is to wind down and repatriate all the money without running afoul of the tax man. youtube.com |
|
