Oranize Donor's Estate

   In my 12 years experience in the financial planning profession I have found that the vast majority of clients have had their finances in complete disarray.  The majority of individuals I met with had very little understanding of what they owned and where it could be found.  The issue that arose most often had to do with Life Insurance policies that were initiated many years ago, but the policy could not be found or the beneficiary was out of date.  For example, a male in his early 30's purchases a life insurance policy and at the time he is neither married nor has children of his own.  In many cases he would put his parents on as the primary beneficiaries.  Now, it's 15 years later, the policy is still enforced, but he has married with two kids and his parents have passed away but he has yet to change his beneficiary to reflect his current wishes.

   This same situation is frequently found with qualified plans such as an employee's previous employer 401-k Plan.  In most cases the statements can't be found and the beneficiary hasn't been updated.

   This is not to mention the many clients who have yet to even start on an organized financial plan.